Chosen Path
by Kalyco828
Summary: When faced with a possible devastation, Bella must choose which path in life to take. After he leaves she could fall into darkness, or she could choose to take control of her own life? Through ups and downs she never expected, Bella's chosen path leads her to the place she was always meant to be. . . . Home! Rated M for lang/lemon


**AN: All characters and places are owned by their respective creators, No infringment is intended.**

**I own a great leather chair, lots of tea and a twisted mind ;)**

**Happy Reading!**

**Chosen Path**

I stood there starring at him, but not really seeing him at all. My mind was in overdrive to put his words in an order that made sense, but they didn't. I had been feeling more withdrawn over the last few months, since spring break if I was being honest with myself, and this conversation didn't really shock me as much as it probably should have. I let my eyes refocus on him in the silence of the forest and truly saw him for the first time. He was tall yes, and was attractive, but he lacked maturity that comes with age and life experience; despite how many years he had been walking the earth. His once warm eyes looked at me coldly and without feeling and before I could stop to really think about what I was saying the words poured out of my mouth "Thank you, it's nice to finally hear the truth from someone, so thank you for that" I could tell my words shocked him as much as my lack of reaction did. The truth of my words, the truth about my life had really hit deep inside myself, I knew then that my world was going to be changing with this self discovered epiphany.

When I thought back on my life I saw that very few people had ever been completely truthful with me. My mother loved me yes, and said she wanted the best for me; but what she really wanted was what was best for _her_. Why else would I at a very young age be responsible for the cleaning-cooking-bill paying-getting her up to go to work then getting myself to school? Why when she wanted to try new things, some possibly dangerous, was I the one to talk her into something different to save her from herself? When she met and married Phil I was the one to move to Forks with Charlie so she could go off and be happy? When I moved in with my dad I took care of the house once more, took care of myself, and made sure Charlie's life was disrupted as little as possible with me being here. All of this really comes down to the fact that I have always been the care taker of others. I really don't mind too much as I seem to be very good at it, and I don't want someone to take over my life like the Cullen's have tried to. I want someone that will live my life _with_ me, be there for the good and the bad, the ups and downs and everything in between. Someone I can take care of and be taken care of by. I don't think they meant to lie to me pre say, but they never see that their actions have hurt me. Standing here now I realise that this isn't going to be devastating for me, to lose him, it will actually be a relief.

He looked at me oddly for a few minutes then nodded slightly like he had come to some internal decision, as he straightened up and looked just over my left shoulder he said "Well this is good-bye Bella, you won't ever see me again, I won't be coming back. " he paused for a breathe and looked me in the eye before continuing "Take care of yourself please, for Charlie's sake, don't do anything dangerous" I could almost feel the dazzling effect take hold of me, but now that my mind was clear it didn't work.

I snorted "What I do or don't do is no longer your concern, I will live MY life the way I choose, but seeing as I pretty much raised myself and have survived this long you can be assured that I'll be just fine" I took a deep breath and said the last thing that I needed him to hear before going back to my house alone "Please tell your family good-bye for me, I'm sure they're gone already, and I'm not sure if anything they ever said or did was real for them; but for me it was. So I ask that no one tries to contact me again, if you are all leaving my life I ask that you do it _completely_. I just have one last request?" I waited for his slight nod, not sure if it would make any difference, but I had to try "Please don't do something like this to another human, it isn't right, and our worlds shouldn't mix; you were right about that. I just wish I had figured it out sooner, but not everyone would react like me. After all I am a strange human" I smiled a little at the end. I hope he listened, but even if he didn't there was nothing I could do about it. When he nodded once more I took it as my cue to leave, I could tell that it was getting late and Charlie would be home soon, so I turned and headed back up the path towards home already looking forward to the warmth inside promised. At the edge of the backyard I shared with my father I looked over my should to see one last time the boy who was my first love and whispered knowing he would hear "Good-bye Edward, find happiness, you deserve it" with a small smile I turned and headed inside feeling lighter and more at peace then I have felt since moving to this tiny town months ago.

Dinner with my father was a quiet affair, but that wasn't out of the ordinary, I knew I'd have to talk to him about my break up eventually, but for now I just wanted to be alone with my thoughts. After cleaning up from dinner I headed upstairs to shower and get ready for bed while Charlie watched a game in the living room. That night as I closed my bedroom window and flipped the lock closed; I breathed easier, and with a sigh climbed into bed warm and feeling un-weighted, I had the best night sleep of my life.

Over the next few months I throw myself hard into my school work after having come to the decision to graduate early, I had the grades and more than enough credits to do it. I wanted to live my life my way and after a lengthy conversation with my dad where I told him everything (minus the whole vampire thing) with tears and anger, happiness and acceptance it was decided I would work the time till fall saving up and then start college in Port Angeles in the fall. I had been accepted into the culinary school and was also going to be taking online courses to get a degree in business management. I wanted to open my own store, a small bookstore/bakery/deli idea, Charlie was my biggest supporter. He wished that I stay with him still and save money while I go to school, and as I'd only be driving to PA three times a week it made sense. Charlie wanted me to be more social as well, but when I explained to him that I didn't really connect to others my age he told me that I was more like him than he thought; and that my old soul just didn't know how to be a kid. My father and I grew closer than ever before and I was very happy with that fact, but I did start to feel that something was missing in my life. I talked with my mom more, she was happy that I was happy but was still so wrapped up in her new husband that anything outside of that didn't really register to her. I knew she loved me, but being the adult in our relationship was never really her job, but mine. Maybe that's why I didn't get along with people my age; I had grown up way to fast out of necessity caring for my mother. When you looked at it not much had changed for me when I moved in with Charlie, sure he could pay the bills by myself, and never forgot he had to work, but the man was hopeless in the general area of housekeeping. Don't even get me started on his skills, or lack thereof, when it came to cooking anything besides eggs and fish. I had always been the care taker, which was a big part of the problem being involved with the Cullen's. They made it seem that I was to be taken care of to the point of them trying to run every aspect of my life, and that just didn't work for me, it left the scales of the relationship way out of balance. Not that I have a lot of examples to go by, but I do believe that a healthy relationship should be equal amounts give and take, both sides needing to take care of each other.

All was going well with my plans as just before the Christmas break I completed all of the things needed for me to graduate early, Charlie and I went to celebrate in PA, it was a great day. When we got home I noticed the machine flashing and pointed it out to Charlie as I went to take a shower. Half hour later I was dressed in sweats and a long sleeve t-shirt with a braid falling down my back as I headed back down stairs. At first I thought Charlie had left as the house was so quiet, no sports center blasting from the TV, or any sound at all for that matter. I went to the kitchen to make some tea when I was startled to find my dad slumped in a chair with his hands locked in his hair, the cordless phone lying on the table.

I walked to his side and placed a hand on his shoulder softly hoping not to shock him at the contact, but he flinched and snapped his head up anyways. The sight of his bloodshot eyes and wet cheeks made my stomach flip, then fill with dread, I had never seen my father cry.

"Dad?" I questioned not sure what else to say, fear was starting to tighten my throat. He reached a hand up to my face and wiped away tears, I didn't know when I had started to cry as well.

"Oh Bells honey I'm so sorry, I called and checked when I heard the message, and I spoke to the officer in Phoenix, it all happened so fast Bella, I'm sorry" he said not making a lot of sense. He stood suddenly and wrapped me in his arms, mumbling into the top of my head "so sorry baby girl, I'll be here for you I promise, I won't leave you to deal with this alone. They didn't suffer, it was all so fast."

I pushed out of his arms then, the way he was talking had my heart racing and my mind spinning, but I couldn't make sense of any of it. He watched me with pained filled eyes as I tried unsuccessfully to put his words in an order that made sense. "Dad what are you talking about? Please I don't understand" I whispered, a part of me knowing that it was very bad. Charlie reached and grabbed both my hands, holding them tightly he looked me right in the eye and said very clearly as to not be misunderstood "Bella the message on the machine was from an officer in Phoenix asking for me or you to call him back immediately. There is no easy way to say this Bells, I'm sorry, but your Mom and Phil were in a car accident. They're both gone. It happened fast, on impact, so they didn't suffer honey." Charlie stopped then as I tried to make sense of his words, but when I tried to ask what he meant all that came out was a choked gasping sound.

For what seemed like an eternity, but was likely only a few minutes all was silent in the Swan house. Charlie watched his daughters face as a multitude of emotions passed through her eyes. He saw the exact moment that the reality of what he said took hold within her, he had just a split second to let go of her hands and catch her as she fell to the kitchen floor. Father and daughter sank down as the tears turned to sobs for the pair.

The next few weeks were a blur; Charlie had to watch as his daughter moved around on auto-pilot. After the sobs had stopped that first day, and the tears ran dry; he asked Bella if she wanted to go to the airport that night or wait till morning. When she said she would go pack a bag right away he had his answer and called the airline to get two seats on the next flight. After that he called Billy Black and told him what was going on and asked if someone could check on the house while they were gone, Billy promised to take care of it and said he would help with anything they may need. When Billy asked how Bella was the only thing Charlie could say was "Quiet" as he didn't have a better word to describe her at the time.

Weeks later after the funerals and the cleaning out and prepping the house in Phoenix for sale; that word still fit Bella well. She barely ever spoke, and when she did it was toneless and near clinical. Charlie worried about his daughter endlessly, he feared she was sinking into a depression that he wasn't able to pull her from; he just didn't know what to do. He handled the legal end of everything, from wills to bank accounts and sale of anything Bella didn't want to keep. As it turned out both Renee's and Phil's will's left everything to Bella, Phil had no family of his own. The sum total of everything with the life insurance, and estimation of the house was well over 12 million dollars. Charlie knew Bella would rather have them back in her life than take the money, but it gave Charlie comfort to know she would be able to take care of herself financially for the rest of her life. With everything done in Phoenix that they could do, leaving the house in the hands of a realtor to deal with, Charlie and Bella returned to Forks three weeks after that first phone call.

Now in the middle of January, almost exactly one year to the day Bella came to live with him; Charlie had to return to work at the station, but was worried about leaving his daughter alone. He didn't think she would harm herself or anyone else, but he worried that if she stayed locked inside herself much longer she may be lost for good. Grief does strange things to people. Charlie noticed that since she heard of her mother's passing Bella had barely eaten, and sleep seemed to evade her as well; evident by the deep dark circles under her eyes. He was hurting too with Renee's passing, she was his first love and the mother of his child, part of him would always love her; but he had let go and moved on with his life regardless of what other people thought. With that Charlie had just thought of a way to help Bella, by giving her an outlet for all she was feeling. Standing at the bottom of the stairs he called "Bells can you come down here please?" Charlie held in a wince when she made it downstairs, her eyes were filled with pain and confusion. Bella had her arms wrapped around herself like she was trying to stay together; her movements were slow as she sat down at the table across from him.

Charlie took a deep breath and looked at his daughters head, as her chin was to her chest "Bells I know you are hurting and confused. I'm right there with you, but what you have to remember is that this is not what either your Mom or Phil would have wanted." Her head snapped up to look at her father "They would not want you to stop living your life and waste away like this. I don't want to see you like this, I love you Bells and that is why I'm putting my foot down. You are going to get help, and the first thing is; you are going upstairs putting on comfortable clothing, be back down here in five minutes because we are going out."

Bella blinked a few times trying to understand what her dad was saying, part of her was angry that Charlie was trying to pull her out of the bubble she put herself in to try and protect herself from all the pain; not that it was working. Another part of her was curious to see what Charlie was up to. Five minutes later found them both in the cruiser sitting in silence; Bella was dressed in yoga pants and sports bra with a long sleeve thermal shirt, her hair tied back in a braid. Charlie was in similar clothing with sweat pants and a t-shirt under his flannel shirt. Bella was very confused when they pulled up and parked at the station, however she followed Charlie out of the car silently and trailed him into his work. She knew he didn't have to work till the next day, so why they were here was a mystery. Charlie nodded to the few people working but otherwise said nothing as he lead Bella towards the back of the station, a part she had never been in before. When they stepped through the double doors Bella was unsure why they were in the Forks Police station exercise facility. Charlie told her to put her coat and shoes on a chair along the wall as he did the same, and then led her on to the covered mat in the center of the room.

"Now I'm going to start with getting you fitted with gear then we will see how it goes okay?" Charlie said in a strong voice, the same he uses with new recruits. Bella watched him bewildered as he went over to the open faced lockers along the wall and searched around for a minute, when he came back over to her he had what looked like padded gloves. When he was in front of her and motioned for her to put her hands out in front of herself, she realized that is exactly what he had; padded sparring gloves. Charlie placed the gloves on her and tightened them to be secure, but not too tight, then reached down and picked up a padded shield that he held strapped to his left arm.

"Now Bells the placement of your feet is important, I know you have trouble with your balance sometimes, and we'll work on that later; but for now I just want you to get your feet where they are supposed to be. Now place your feet about shoulder width apart and one a little in front of the other." Bella followed his instructions still trying to work out what was happening; she still wasn't getting it.

"Good Bells now move your left foot back just a little more" she did "Now bring your hands up in front of your chest, keep your hands loose and shoulders relaxed. Now just before impact I want you to tighten your hand and lean forward a bit, but not too much as you'll be out of balance." Charlie said in the same stern voice, Bella was still confused. Confused or not she still did as directed unsure about the reason she was doing any of this.

When Charlie saw that she was listening he raised the pad on his arm and said "Now hit Bells" to which she continued to look at him in bewilderment. He waited a few seconds, but when she made no move to strike he figured he'd have to try a different approach. Charlie wasn't sure it was going to work out how he hoped, but he had to try.

"Isabella I know you can do this, now hit the pad with everything you've got" still she did nothing but drop her arms to her side. Charlie could see she was about to start questioning why they were doing this, but he didn't want her to think; but feel so he cut her off "I thought you took self defence classes with your Mom in Phoenix? Surely you learnt something, now lift your hands and hit already" He could see that talking about Renee, however painful it was for him; was worse for his daughter. There was a small spark in her eyes and her shoulders hitched up, the look on her face told him he shouldn't be talking about her Mom at all; but he knew that it was exactly what he had to do to help Bella move forward. "I'm getting old here Bells, now you need to know how to do this. Your mother and I always agreed on the fact that you had to know how to take care of yourself, and if you can't even do this; hit a pad with gloves on, then it looks like we failed in that area."

Bella started to feel her anger override her confusion, right now it didn't matter why Charlie was doing this, all that mattered was that he crossed a line he shouldn't have. Did he really think she couldn't take care of herself? They had talked about this before, she has done nothing but take care of herself and everyone else all her life. Right now she was trying to take care of other people by not putting her depression on them. She was keeping it all inside to deal with alone so Charlie didn't have to; she knew he was hurting as well. But when he brought up her Mom, and insinuated that she couldn't take care of herself her vision started to tint red and her muscles tensed. Without conscious thought her right arm shot forward and would have connected with Charlie's shoulder if he hadn't brought the pad up fast enough. Bella took a step towards him as he said "Is that all you got?" with a frown on his face, and without thinking Bella swung again followed closely with the other arm.

Again and again she swung at her father, some were straight on and others were just wild in her rage. Without her notice her thoughts started to flow out of her mouth, Charlie listened closely "Can't take care of myself? That's all I've ever done. I took care of Renee because god knows she couldn't take care of herself, then Phil came and I thought I was finally able to live my life for me, but that didn't happen because I had to take care of Dad. He is way better then Mom, but still needed someone. Then _he_ came along with his perfect life and perfect family and tried to take over, and stupid me let him thinking that he loved me, he didn't love me. _He_ loved the idea of being in a relationship, the power to control someone, and _I_ let him. God how stupid could I have been I'm glad he's gone, that he took his overbearing family with him. And just when I get everything going great with dad I have to be the adult again and deal with Mom and Phil. Why? Why is this happening, what did I do so wrong that this crap keeps happening to me?" Half way through her rant she had stopped swing and the tears had finally started to flow freely, as Bella started to sink down to the mat, Charlie dropped the pad and held her once more as she collapsed into herself. Her voice was but a whisper at the end, but Charlie heard the pain and anger, fear and confusion. He didn't say a word just held onto his daughter tightly, hoping that she could feel his love and support while in his arms.

He remembered that after Renee left him and took Bella away when she was just a baby that he had sunk into a dark hole of negativity, and it had been Billy that drew him out of it doing this very thing. With old boxing gloves they kicked the bloody hell out of each other and it opened the door for Charlie to start dealing with his emotions. He went and seen a counsellor for about a year, and he made his peace with what happened. Having Bella come back to live with him healed the last part of him that was still a little broken. His goal with Bella was to give her an outlet, and show her that he could help her, that she wasn't alone, and it was okay to lean on others; she didn't have to be strong all the time.

This day marked a change in the path of the Swan's lives. After the tears had stopped Bella listened to Charlie when he said she didn't have to be alone, that it was okay to feel what she felt, what was not okay was bottling it all up to fester and rot her insides. Bella wasn't keen on the idea of a counsellor, because there was so much she couldn't talk about, she came up with her own idea. The next day she went to Port Angeles and picked up a leather bound journal. Every day she wrote down what she thought, felt, and hoped for. Her dreams and fears all went in as well, it helped her more then she realised. Three days a week Bella could be found in the Police stations exercise room, not only did she make use of the equipment; but learned hand to hand combat skills as well. Mostly it was her father that trained her, but sometimes the other officers would voluntarily offer their help too. On the days not at the station Bella took up jogging, sometimes it was hard with the weather, but she didn't let that stop her. With her writing and new physical routine, Bella eat better, slept more soundly, and her emotions were starting to stabilize. She wasn't entirely healed, but just the fact that she was getting better at all was a step in the right direction. Her epiphany from the fall was still holding strong, and in time she was going to be okay.

As spring approached the Pacific Northwest, Bella sat down with her father for dinner truly enjoying the meal. Once the meal was over, Charlie helped with the dishes, as was the new agreement made between the two Swans. Charlie had a feeling that his daughter had something on her mind, as she seemed a bit distant tonight, so once finished he sat back down at the table instead of heading for the TV to watch sports. Of course this action didn't go unnoticed by Bella and after grabbing a can of pop for herself and a beer for her Dad she joined him at the table. However she didn't know how to start.

Charlie could see she was struggling for words, and he wouldn't push her to talk; he knew she needed to but let her get her thoughts in order without pressure. Finally after about five minutes of silence, while he drank his beer slowly and she fidgeted starring at her hands her head shoot up and she blurted out "I want to go to Paris for a year for culinary school."

Charlie was thankful he had nothing in his mouth at that exact second, for it surely would have been spit out or choked him. As it was he crushed the beer can in his hands slightly when he tensed. Bella was still looking at him, but now had her feet on her chair and her arms wrapped around her knees; she was also trying to chew a hole through her lower lip. Charlie's first reaction was to say no, to keep her close where he could protect her; but his love for his daughter and the respect he had for her stopped him cold. He thought about what this could be like for her, to try something so new in a place she had never been. To spread her wings a bit and truly find herself. Charlie knew she could look after herself well enough, and he would miss her terribly, but behind the nervousness in her eyes he could see hope. It was something that had been missing for far too long. He knew he had to get all the details from her before had made his opinion known, so he took a deep breath and said calmly "Why Paris?" those two words seemed to open Bella right up, she launched into a detailed explanation. As he listened to his daughter tell him all about getting invited to this prestigious school for an accelerated program that would get her the international seal in cooking that she wanted from the beginning, he watched as she became more animated and spoke in an excited voice. Her legs dropped down and she spoke while using her hands a lot. The light in her eyes was shining, and her whole being seemed to glow as she spoke. Charlie knew that he would never be able to tell her to not go, as much as he worried for his only child going overseas be herself; he knew this was what was best for her in the long run. He sat back with a smile on his face as she carried on, almost like she was just talking it out and not really talking to him.

About twenty minutes later Bella seemed to notice that she had been rambling on and her voice trailed off as she met Charlie's eye, he was looking at her in amusement; but his love for her was still easy to see. After a deep breath Bella spoke just above a whisper "Well what do you think Dad? Be honest please, I can take it" Bella braced herself fearing the worst reaction from her father. She knew this was sudden and unexpected, but when she applied for the program it was done on a whim with no real hope. However when she got the acceptance package in the mail the day before, it hit her hard how bad she wanted it. Not only for herself, but for her home as well. Bella imagined the skills she would learn and be able to bring home to open her own store, as that was still the end goal for her; she could almost see the excitement in people's eyes to have world class treats at affordable prices right at their finger tips. Bella pulled herself from her thoughts and focused back on her father across the table, he seemed to be waiting for eye contact before he answered her.

"Bella all I've ever wanted for you is your safety and happiness, yes I would like you to stay close to home, as I don't know how to let you go when I only just got you back" Charlie paused to take a deep breath "However I can plainly see how much this means to you, I can also see that this has the potential to be life altering; I just hope in a good way. So I'm going to sit back and let you live your life, and pray that when you've seen the world that you don't forget where home is." Charlie's voice got a little rough at the end due to the emotions tightening his throat. Before he could register the movement Bella had sprung from her seat and lapped the table practically tackling him as she hugged him as hard as she could and whispered "Thank you" over and over. Charlie felt his eyes fill with joyous tears as he hugged her back tightly. He knew this was going to be difficult, but deep down he knew it would be worth it in the long run.

Bella pulled back a little, and as her wet face came into view she graced him with the biggest and brightest smile he had ever seen her with. "I love you Dad, and I don't want you to worry too much, when the program is over I'm coming home to open my store right here; because this is home. Home isn't just a place, it's a feeling. It's where you can breathe deep and feel whole, and this is my home; because you are here" Charlie hugged her back to his chest too emotional to form words. Right then and there they both knew that they would be fine.

Three weeks later found Charlie standing in the Sea-Tac airport in Seattle about to put Bella on a plain to Paris, France. Two suitcases were already checked, her carry-on sitting at their feet just waiting for the boarding call to come over the loud speakers. Father and daughter had spent the past two days together in Seattle making the most of their last few days together before Bella boarded the plane. They did all the silly tourist things, and even made it to a Seahawks game; which was actually fun for Bella. Now standing together about to have a painful good-bye, Bella made a split second decision. "Don't say good-bye, because that isn't what this is. This is a 'see you later' moment, and I showed you how to use Skype, and we will email and call. A year really isn't that long Dad, before you know it I'll be back cooking in your kitchen all the wonderful things you love, and a ton of new stuff. Then you'll have a good reason to start jogging with me a couple times a week" Bella said with a watery smile.

Charlie was nodding along with what she was saying, he also understood that she hated good-byes as much as he did; maybe more. "Alright Bells I won't say it because your right. We will talk and stuff often, and maybe I'll start jogging before you get back just so I can keep up with you when you do" He said smiling. "Now remember all you've been taught, and always carry your pepper spray with you. Learn your route, but change your routine often, and don't become lazy. Keep your eyes open to the people and things around you, make friends, study hard, and have fun. You are going to do amazing things Bella, and I'm so proud of you, I love you kid; be safe and come home." The tears where flowing down both of their faces as Charlie finished talking, he pulled her into a fierce hug and gently rocked them back and forth.

"I love you too Dad, and I'll be home before you know it" Bella mumbled into his chest holding onto her father as hard as she could. They stayed that way until her flight was called, then Charlie pulled back a bit to place a kiss on her forehead breathing out the words "See you later Bells." Bella took one last deep pull of her Dads unique scent of leather and after shave cream, with just a hint of gun powder. Smiling just a little she leaned up to kiss his cheek and repeated "See you later Dad." With that she felt him squeeze her once more before letting go, she picked up her bag and turned for the gate handing her ticket to the man standing there. Just before she walked down the corridor she turned around and looked at Charlie mouthing "I love you." He raised a hand in return and smiled with a nod; she knew it was his way of saying it back. With a lighter step and warmth in her heart Bella made her way to the plane feeling that even though she was going alone, she wasn't really alone at all. She carried her father's love with her deep in her heart, and that gave her strength; however a small part of her wondered if she would ever feel another type of love, and who would it come from?

Spring time in La Push was warmer this year than any Sam Uley could remember in recent history, not that it made much of a difference to him or the rest of the pack, they ran higher in temperature than anyone else. Sam had been a wolf for two years now and was the alpha of the shape shifters of La Push. He was not meant to be Alpha, that was the birth right to Jacob Black; but the young pup didn't want it. Jacob even went against his father's wishes and formally renounced his birth right to the spirits; Sam was now the permanent Alpha. He was twenty years old and ran a small construction company, most of the wolves worked for him to earn money to help with the food bill that had increased with their first phase. He made decent money doing jobs around La Push and Forks, sometimes even up in PA. Wolf strength and stamina came in handy when doing manual labor, Sam truly liked his work, and he was proud of what he did for his community. Life in La Push wasn't always easy, especially for the pack; but they did help where they could. The pack had fixed up the community center's roof and plumbing, they had repaired the Elder's Lodge to near perfect condition the previous fall. They all wanted to give back to their home, as they knew it would be a long time before any of them left it, and that would only happen if the dangers had passed and they could stop phasing.

Sam was just putting together some breakfast for himself, and made extra as he knew at least a few wolves would turn up once they smelled food, before he headed to the supply store to get the materials for the new job starting the next day. As the food finished cooking Sam was curious to think about the series of events over the past two years, wondering where it all was leading to. However he had faith in the Great Spirits to lead him where he was meant to be, he just hoped he didn't have to make the journey alone. Not that he was really ever alone with his wolf and pack, a pack that had grown to seven strong; the largest pack known to the tribe.

Sam was the first, then Paul followed closely by Jarrod. Eleven months went by and they thought that they would be the only ones to phase, but then to their collective shock Embry Call phased; they didn't even know he was Quileute and his father was unknown. Jacob Black was next a month later in late spring and with his phase came an unexpected surprise. Charlie Swan, best friend to Billy Black, Jacob's father; was just pulling up when Jacob ran out of the house and phased mid stride while heading for the tree line. Charlie almost shot him. After Sam arrived and calmed Jacob down somewhat, he was forced to tell Chief Swan their secret in detail. Charlie had always been a friend to the tribe, so he had heard the legends before, but hearing them with the knowledge that it was real was another thing all together. However Charlie took it like he did almost everything, calm cool and collected, only saying "Well I'll be damned, now I gotta figure out a way to kill a walking corpse" That got everyone's attention within earshot. They all moved out into the backyard as Charlie then went to explain what he meant by going over the last year, his daughter Isabella had been involved with the coven that had settled outside of Forks, but when her eighteenth birthday had rolled around something had changed. Within a few days the whole family had up and disappeared with no forwarding address.

Charlie explained what his daughter had told him, nothing of the supernatural; but of the fact that they tried to take over her life. She had realised the danger of being around people like that and had asked that they never contact her again as she wanted to move on with her life. So far there hadn't been any sign of them since they left. The Swan family had also been through much since Isabella moved back home with her father, accidents, major injuries and the death of the Chief's ex-wife and her husband just before Christmas. Billy asked how Bella, apparently she prefers the nickname, was doing now away overseas? Charlie became very lively as he spoke of his little girls accomplishments; the pride in his voice was easy to hear. He told everyone there, Billy, Sam and Jacob (who had managed to calm down) that she was doing great; but it was hard and she had only been gone a week. Sam knew he had briefly seen the Swan girl on First Beach not long after his first phase, but didn't really pay her any attention, for some reason that bothered him now. Charlie had never liked the Cullen boy and now that he knew he was one of the undead, the Chief wanted to make him dead-dead for the crap he pulled with his daughter.

Sam hoped after Jacob that no more would phase, but that hope proved to be in vain. For some reason even though the Cullen's were gone; vampire activity was still high in the area. Two people had lost their lives to the vampires before the pack could intervene and destroy them. Some were caught and ripped apart to be burned to ash, while others fled the area and didn't come back; all but one that is. A red eyed, red haired demon kept coming at them from all sides but would slip away from them at the last second and disappear into the water every time. Quil the fifth was the next to phase, with Seth Clearwater not far behind him. With seven wolves running the boundaries, leaving behind their collective scent strongly, vampires had started to avoid the area all together, all but 'Red' as they deemed her.

Sam was just putting the finishing touches on the food when he heard Paul and Embry heading up his driveway, just as he went to make himself another cup of coffee the phone rang. Sighing Sam grabbed it and headed for the pot, hoping it wasn't another pack member needed something changed with patrol, or an Elder needed anything. Sam was pleasantly surprised when he heard Chief Swan's voice greet him after he answered.

"Hey Sam its Charlie, how are you this morning? Hope I didn't wake ya up?" Charlie said after Sam's hello.

"Morning Chief, I'm good and I'm just sitting down for breakfast. What can I do for you?" Sam raised a hand to the two wolves that had seated themselves at his table and were eyeing the food hungrily. They knew better though; never touch an Alpha's food until he himself has eaten. Sam always thought that it was amazing to see just how much the wolf affected the man in everyday things. Sam grabbed a plate heaping with food as he listened to the Chief, then waved his hand to indicate the others to start. The food vanished with supernatural speed.

"Well I won't keep you then, I've seen you boys eat" Charlie chuckled "I have a job for you if you have some time? You see Bells is coming home in a few weeks and I was thinking to surprise her with an updated kitchen. I already know the things she would love, but the counters in here aren't going to work with the new appliances. I'd like it all redone in here if it isn't too much work for you guys, but even if it's just the new stuff put in right I'd be happy. What do you think Sam?"

Sam hummed to Charlie indicate he heard and was thinking. The job that was next in line would only take a few days to finish, and if he went by today to get measurements and things at the Swan house, he could order the material and start beginning next week. There were some smaller jobs lined up for that week, but the other guys could handle it as Paul and Jarrod both worked full time and had since the start.

"Well Chief if I could swing by today to get the list of things you want done, I could put an order in and we could start Monday of next week. How does that sound?" Sam said after a minute then sipped his coffee.

"That works for me Sam, thanks for this. She hopefully is going to love this, I know sure won't live here forever, but upgrading the house will look good if I ever sell it. I'll be home till ten this morning if you can make it up here by then?" Charlie asked.

After checking that it was only half past seven Sam said "Sure that won't be a problem, I'll see you in about an hour Chief". Both men said their good-byes and hung up, Sam sat down to his luke-warm food, not really bothered, but still wishing it was hot.

Monday morning found Sam and Embry, who was on spring break; pulling up to Chief Swan's house at 8:00am. Loaded in the truck were the new kitchen cabinets and counter tops, along with new paint as well as all the tools and supplies needed to do the job. Charlie stepped out onto the front porch with a cup of coffee and greeted the two young men with a nod of the head saying "Morning Sam, Embry. Thanks for doing this so quick for me, it means a lot; I know you guys are busy lately."

Sam and Embry followed Charlie back inside before Sam spoke "It's not a problem Chief, it fit in well with the other jobs going on, and with spring break the younger guys don't have to worry about school so they tend to want to work and earn some pocket money while they can."

Charlie was nodding along "I can appreciate that, shows strong character as well. Over the weekend I cleaned out the kitchen so you just have to start taking things apart, thought it would make it easier." They all headed into the kitchen as they spoke and Sam was thankful for the Chief's thoughtfulness "Thanks Chief that will save time. However the fridge will need to be moved and plugged in somewhere so nothing goes bad. . . "Sam trailed off as he saw Charlie shaking his head, he watched as Charlie walked to the fridge and opened the door; Sam saw that it was empty.

"I really didn't have much in it anyways, and what wasn't bad all fit into a big cooler filled with ice in the garage. I unplugged it yesterday, the stove too; the gas valve for it is off as well. I'll get out of the way if you don't need me for anything?" Charlie said turning half way towards the living room.

"Thanks Chief this will be way easier" Embry said with a big smile. Sam had already told him how this was all going to go, and he went to start unloading the tools and things from the truck. It was nice that the Chief knew about the wolves, as they didn't have to hide their natural strength around him like they had too around others.

"Embry's right, thank you. In three days time you will have a brand new kitchen, we will get everything down today and the paint on before we leave. With the new appliances coming tomorrow we will put them in place with the cabinets, then counter tops and finish work the next day and all will be done." Sam said as he too headed for the truck to help Embry.

"All sounds fine to me, I'm going to head down to the station and stay out of your way, the coffee pot is set up in the dining room if you guys want it, help yourselves. I should be back around four, it you need anything before that just call the station okay?" Charlie said grabbing his coat and stepping out the door after Sam.

"Sure thing Chief, we're good. See you when you get back" Sam then waved bye and grabbed his tool belt out of the truck along with the canvas dump bag for all the scrap material they were going to create today.

"Well boss, let's go break some stuff" Embry said with a big smile and a crow bar in hand.

Sam laughed at the young wolf and waved him on ahead. As Sam was setting up the bag, the sun; so rare in Forks, suddenly burst through the clouds and the wind gently blow across his face. It was going to be a good day; Sam just didn't realize that this day marked the start of something wonderful.

As Bella stepped off the plane from a very long flight back to the U.S. she felt lighter, stronger than when she left a year before. She was more grown up, even if she was always more of an adult than child. The passing of her mother and step-father still caused some sadness, but it didn't hurt so much anymore. Bella understood that it wasn't anyone's fault, and throwing away her life wasn't going to bring them back.

Port Angeles airport was small, but familiar; the people a little more rugged than France. They moved at a calmer pace, were more friendly then their European counterparts. Bella didn't have anything bad to say about her time in France, other than missing her father and home; she loved it there to be honest. She met some really cool people, learned amazing things at school; saw some of the most beautiful sights in the world. However none of those things could add up to the feeling of seeing her father standing by baggage claim waiting for her. The smile that was on her face, despite the long day of travel; must have looked deranged to others. With her carry-on bag on her shoulder Bella ran to her Dad as fast as the crowd would let her through. Dropping the bag at their feet the two Swan's embraced each other tightly, each talking over the other with words of love and greeting. For close to ten minutes they stayed that way, just holding each other like they were trying to make up for a year of missed hugs. Eventually Charlie pulled back a bit to place a kiss on his daughter's forehead, then a little further to look at her overall. She looked good, he thought. The light in her eyes was bright once more, her skin had some colour to it and she stood straighter, more confident in herself.

Holding her at arm's length Charlie said "You look great Bells, Paris did you good, but I'm so glad your home." He shifted his hold on her to wrap his arm around her shoulders, picked up her bag and started walking both of them over to the conveyor belt to retrieve the rest of her luggage.

Resting her head against her Dads shoulder with an arm around his waist Bella said "Paris did do me good, but it feels great to be back home, I've missed it here. I missed you too, and now that I'm home I can set my plan in motion on opening my own store. I have big plans Dad; I hope I can get a little help figuring it all out?" She said all this calmly, but Charlie could hear the question in her tone. Before he could answer her, she pointed out her luggage and they both bent down to pick up a large suitcase each. Charlie grunted a bit from the weight of it and said "What did you bring home bricks with you? These things probably weigh more than you do" he finished with a laugh.

Bella shook her head "No Dad I didn't bring home bricks, just clothes and a few trinkets, the other stuff I collected when I was there had to be mailed home, they did make it right?" She was a little worried as her good knives were in those boxes, among other things she couldn't dare part with.

"Don't worry Bells six boxes showed up a few weeks ago, I put them up in your room as I wasn't sure what you wanted to do with them, well all but the one that said kitchen anyways."

They had made it to the car and placed the bags in the trunk before climbing in; they both sat in silence for awhile as the joy of the situation settled around them. However just before entering Forks Charlie remembered her question from the airport and decided to tell her before they got home, that and he couldn't wait to see her reaction to her surprise; it had turned out even better than he hoped. "Bella about what you said earlier, I have always supported this plan of yours, and I'm not going to stop now. In fact I've been gathering information you will need to go over about opening a new business, and I've looked at what's available for places, there are some good choices in Forks and La Push. I'm going to help you with this any way I can, not just because I'm your Dad, but because I believe in you. You are going to do great things kiddo."

Bella noticed his voice had gone gruff at the end of his speech; her eyes were tingling with the tears it had brought up. When Charlie pulled in and parked in the driveway, Bella undid her seatbelt and reached over to hug her father. She couldn't imagine anyone with a better father than her, the only thing she could say was "Thanks Dad". He hugged her back as best he could sitting in the car and took a moment to gather his normally calm self. Father and daughter separated with a smile and got out to go inside, stopping only to get her bags from the back. Stepping in the door of her home felt great after a year, she noticed some of the changes Charlie had told her about over the phone. There was new paint on the walls, the floors had been refinished and she looked in the living room to check out the new living room set. Bella was very happy with what she saw, but more importantly she was happy that even with the changes, it still felt like home.

Charlie stood back just watching her take all the newness in, but he was anxious to see her reaction to the kitchen, so he headed that way calling over his shoulder "I think I need a coffee Bells, you want one?" He was hoping she would follow him, he wasn't disappointed. He quickly stepped to the side and turned to see her face as she entered.

"Yeah Dad a coffee sounds good right about . . . now" Bella's voice trailed off into a whisper as she looked around the room. She was stunned at the sight before her. Where once was her father's out dated kitchen appliances, peeling yellow cupboards and off white walls now stood the most beautiful little kitchen she had ever seen. All the appliances were brand new and stainless steel, light honey oak cabinets with light grey garnet counter tops. The walls were a soft sand colour that reminded her of the bricks at the academy in Paris, she stood in awe. Charlie watched the many emotions pass across her face, shock, joy, excitement, and finally awe. He knew she would say he didn't have to do this, but he also knew that she loved it at first glance.

"Surprise" he said softly with a gentle smile, and when she turned to look at him Bella saw the hope in his eyes. Hope that she would like it, hope that she wouldn't argue about it, and right there she knew there was no way she could even come close to saying anything negative about this beautiful gift from her father. Bella stepped over to him and wrapped her arms around him, much like the airport, he didn't hesitate to return her embrace happy that she was happy.

"Thank you Dad, this is amazing. I can't wait to cook in here, the things I learned Dad, you are going to love. However I'm hoping you still want that coffee as I'm dying for one myself, jet-lag sucks." Both chuckled at that and pulled apart to make the hot drink. As Charlie started coffee Bella eagerly started looking around, opening cupboards and drawers to see where everything was, but the longer she looked the more confused she got. There was almost nothing here, besides a few basics; as she turned to ask Charlie she noticed the slight redness in his cheeks.

When he felt her eyes on him he said "I know you are wondering why everything is so bare, but the stuff we had was old and mismatched. I figured after you rested, we could go to PA tomorrow to that big store that sells all this kinda stuff, and we could pick up stuff that fits this new kitchen. Since you're the cook I thought it best to wait for you, as I can't cook anything besides eggs and fish." Charlie turned to look at his daughter and noticed she was holding her stomach and shaking slightly, he worried for a second that she was sick, but then one look in her eyes revealed the humor there. She was trying to hide her laughter, and was failing miserably. He huffed and crossed his arms in a stance he used on lawbreakers to scare them into talking, but all it did was break whatever hold Bella had over herself as she bent at the waist and burst into hysterical laughter. Despite his slight embarrassment, he felt his own lip twitch at the silliness of it all. "Yeah yeah keep laughing Bells; just remember to sleep with one eye open." He grabbed to mugs to fix their coffee as Bella seemed to be calming down, moving to the table to wait for her chuckles to finish.

Bella sat across from her father and accepted the cup he slid towards her, after a sip she smiled and said "It sounds like a great plan Dad, now how about you show me your other cooking skills and pick up the phone to call for pizza? I've missed true American pizza."

Both were happy to be together, Bella about to start on another big chapter in her life, and Charlie would be there to help her however he could. His only hope now was that his daughter would find that special someone to share her life with, as all the good fortune and success in life can feel hollow if there isn't anyone to share it with. He knew he wouldn't be around forever, he just hoped he was around long enough to see true soul deep happiness in his daughters eyes.

The next day found the Swan's in PA shopping for all sorts of things, surprisingly the first thing was a new vehicle for Bella, as 'Big Red' had died not long after she left for Paris and had been hauled to the junk yard. Bella wanted something that she could feel safe in, but also be able to load tons of groceries in without worrying about them getting wet in the rain. Charlie took her to many dealerships, but nothing seemed just right, until the Ford dealer. Bella fell in love with the Ford Expedition, it was big enough to haul all she would need, and Charlie was happy with the safety features it had. Bella held nothing back and ordered one with all the bells and whistles available, she got it in glossy black; with all leather interior. They were more than happy to accommodate the Swan's with their requests when they learned who Charlie was and the fact it would be paid for in full upon pick up. After that they jumped back into Charlie's truck, his personal vehicle; and went to Bed, Bath and Beyond. Charlie got a laugh as Bella walked up to customer services and requested a price gun, telling them that she needed to restock an entire kitchen and it would be more than she could fit into a cart. You could almost see the dollar signs in their eyes. Charlie went along with his daughter resigned to stay quiet, but as time went by and Bella asked his opinion on things, he found that he was actually enjoying this shopping trip. Some of the things Bella picked out were far beyond Charlie's understanding, but he trusted her. They had discussed who was paying for all of this, Bella won the argument by stating he had already paid for the updated kitchen, and the things she was going to pick up were not cheap. She had more than enough money, though she would give it all back to have her Mom and Phil alive; so she might as well spend it on things she needed. Charlie couldn't argue after that.

Charlie was wondering why Bella was looking at new coffee makers when they had a perfectly good one at home, but when she explained that the Breville® Gourmet Single Cup Brewer with Iced Beverage Function could do; he started to excitedly look at all the little beverages you could make with it. He then started picking out all the things to go with it as Bella just stood back and smiled, happy that her Father was enjoying himself. A few hours later found them handing over the price gun and after paying they arranged to have it all delivered this evening by 5:00pm. So after a quick lunch Bella dragged Charlie to the grocery store to stock up on everything she would need, planning to start showing her Father what the last year had been for.

Later that night after everything was cleaned and put away, Bella made a simple supper of soup and sandwiches, they both headed to bed to get some much needed rest after such a long day. Bella was happy with the way things were looking; she couldn't explain why it felt so good to be home in Forks, but there was a feeling she couldn't put her finger on. It was almost like anticipation, a nervous tingling just below the surface of her skin; she hoped it meant good things to come. She'd had more than enough bad to last her a life time.

Sam had just gotten home from patrol; he took a quick shower as he was due over the Black's house. They normally had their weekly meetings at Sam's house, but Billy had phoned him yesterday to ask that it be at his home instead; Sam wasn't sure why but didn't see a reason why not. So after pulling on a clean pair of cargo shorts and a black t-shirt, he slipped his phone and wallet into his pocket slipped his shoes on and went out the door. The walk to the Black's wasn't far, the path through the trees was well worn from all the times that the boys had used it instead of the road. The whole pack could be heard as he got closer, all but Quil and Seth running patrol, and he wondered what had them so excited about a pack meeting. Sam greeted everyone with a nod and shook Billy's hand before finding his seat. The meeting was short and nothing new was happening, although 'Red' had been seen again just two days ago, but disappeared into the water once more. When Sam called the meeting to a close he expected everyone to disperse, but no one moved.

Sam turned a questioning look to Billy, and the old man just smiled before saying "I want everyone to stay here for just a while longer please, Charlie is on his way with his daughter, and I want all of you to know who she is as she is very important to me." Sam thought it odd as he knew most of his pack already knew the Swan girl, as most of them grew up with her during the summers. However as Sam had nothing to do that day other than some house work that he had been neglecting, he opted to sit and see how this panned out. Within a few minutes two vehicles could be heard pulling into the driveway. Jacob's smile was big as he sprang up and ran around front with Embry in tow. Sam could hear Charlie greeting his two pack brothers, then he heard the most beautiful voice say "Come on guys, I need to breath still" with laughter followed by all that were out front. The voice he assumed belonged to Charlie's daughter made his heart rate pick up and his skin prickle. He had no idea why this was, but he intended to find out, he stood as they came into the back yard. When Sam turned he missed the look of expectant joy on Billy's face, however Paul didn't. He wondered what the old man was up to now, as he seemed to know things before others did, maybe it had something to do with being the Chief of the tribe; but he couldn't say for certain.

Charlie came into view first talking to Embry about a game that was on yesterday; Jacob was walking behind them, but was walking backwards for some reason. Just as Sam started to wonder where Charlie's daughter was her voice rang out "Jake you will get nothing if you don't stop being silly. I made plenty, and I want everyone's opinion, not just yours." Then like the clouds parted from in front of the sun, Jake stepped sideways with a laugh and the most beautiful woman Sam had ever seen came into view. Tiny little feet in brown leather sandals, long toned legs encased in tight denim that stopped mid-calf, flowed into shapely hips and a narrow waist. Her top was a light green long sleeve that clung to her in the most delicious way, draped over slender shoulders and dipped slightly to show just a hint of very impressive cleavage. Long mahogany hair that had streaks of deep red in it came nearly to her hips, but was clipped back from her heart shaped face. Pale smooth skin, small button nose, cupid-bow lips that were a natural red. Artistically shaped eyebrows sat over wide milk chocolate eyes that had specks of green in them, they were framed by long black lashes, and from what he could see she didn't have a stitch of make-up on. She didn't need it. She had a grace to her that he didn't expect to see given what everyone said about her being clumsy, she had an air of confidence around her; but it didn't overwhelm her quiet beauty.

Sam made all of these observations in seconds; she was still walking towards the group, when suddenly she looked up right into Sam's eyes; the world as he knew it stood still. Bella paused as she looked at Sam for the first time, Sam felt himself be drawn towards her and soon found himself standing a foot in front of her. He smiled gently at her and said softly "Hi Bella, I'm Sam Uley" and held out his hand to shake hers.

Bella had been looking forward to coming down to La Push for days now, when Charlie had asked if she wanted to join him for dinner at Billy's house; she jumped at the chance. She asked if she could make the food as she wanted to get as many different opinions as she could. Charlie had phoned to ask Billy, and then laughed about something she couldn't hear. Billy was pleased with the idea, but wondered if Bella would make enough food so that the boys could eat as well? Bella was intrigued when her Dad told her how many would be there, and the amount they could eat, but she assured him that it wouldn't be a problem for her. She was excited to be able to really showcase her skills, so this was going to be great as far as she was concerned. However Bella never expected her world to flip on its axis as she came into Billy's backyard and saw the most gorgeous man she had ever laid eyes on. He was close to seven feet tall with wide shoulders and a narrow waist. He had jet black hair cropped short up the back and sides, but seemed to fall slightly over his forehead; she had the strangest urge to brush it back for him. Deep russet skin that marked him as Quileute was stretched tight over thick muscles that were easily seen through his black t-shirt. His presences was commanding as he strode towards her, nothing else seemed to matter as his dark brown eyes met hers; everything else in the world just no longer existed in that moment.

After taking a deep breath Bella responded as she placed her hand in his, jumping slightly at the warm electricity that flowed across her skin when they touched "Hi Sam, I've heard a lot about you. It's nice to meet you." Her eyes were wide as she gazed up at him, Sam was breathing deep to draw in as much of her intoxicating scent as he could, his eyes dancing over her face committing every aspect of her to memory. Nothing else, not sound or sight; entered the bubble around them. They were completely engrossed with each other.

The others watched in awe as Sam led Bella over to the circle of chairs and sat beside one another on the log bench in the Black's backyard. They started talking, seemingly forgetting the outside world, or others; around them. They had yet to lose physical contact when they sat down, and for having just met; they moved in perfect harmony with each other. When Bella shifted, Sam moved along with her. When Sam leaned a little closer, Bella did the same; both of them breathing in the others scent. Billy sat with a smile upon his face that could light up the state, he was extraordinarily pleased watching the two before him, and when he looked over at Charlie; it seemed he shared the same thought.

"So tell me Billy, did you know this was going to happen? Or were you just hoping it would?" Charlie asked as he sat down in the chair beside his best friend's wheelchair. He was happy that his daughter had found someone, and he knew Sam was a good man. He couldn't help but to think that her very own wolf might just be the level of commitment she needed.

Shaking his head he looked at his friend "I didn't know for sure, but I'm glad that my hunch was right. Ever since you said Bella was coming home a few weeks ago, I've been having dreams of this; well something similar anyways." Billy wasn't sure if Bella would be imprinted on, but he was glad that it was Sam, he knew his son loved the girl; but he still had a lot of growing up to do. What happened next just proved it.

The quit moment between Sam and Bella was broken by Jacob snarling at his father "What do you mean you dreamed of this? You thought Sam, my Alpha; was going to imprint on Bella, my best friend; and you never said a thing. You know how I feel about her and you couldn't have warned me?"

Sam wrapped his arm around Bella's waist and drew her closer as if to protect her from the angry words of the young shifter. Bella was stunned by what Jacob said, and a little, okay a lot; confused as to why she felt so safe and right in a man's arms she had just met. She made no attempt to remove herself from where she was just yet. Paul was surprisingly the first one to stand up and answer Jacob's accusations "Are you done whining like a spoiled little bitch? You have no say in the will of the spirits, if they chose for Sam and Bella to be together, in whatever form _they_ choose; then there is nothing you or anyone can do about it. And as for thinking you have some claim on the girl because you had '_feelings_' for her since you were in diapers, is utter bull. From what the rest of us have seen you have been in the friend/brother zone so strongly, you might as well be president. Oh and now that you've let the wolf out of the bag, you better hope for your sake that she is understanding about what is going on; as I wouldn't want to be you if our Alpha loses his mate because of your stupidity." During Paul's speech the wolves had stood and gathered around the Alpha pair, Sam bringing Bella up with him keeping her tucked into his side, in a show of support. Paul stepped up to the Alpha and his mate and with a questioning lift of his brow, and an answering nod from Sam; greeted Bella "Hello Bella, I'm Paul Lahote. It's a pleasure to meet you, we have all heard great things about you from the Chief's" he pointed a thumb over his shoulder to where Charlie and Billy were sitting "Now I know this may seem forward, but I was told you are an amazing cook that was bringing us food?" He said with a smile. Bella laughed relieved that some of the tension seemed to ease with his question.

"Hi Paul, it's nice to meet you too. From what I hear you guys are like bottomless pits, so I made sure to bring plenty of food. How about you help me unload my SUV, and I'll get everything set up. I hope you're strong though because this stuff isn't light" Bella said with a teasing lift of her brow, everyone but Jacob laughed. Sam gave her a squeeze and watched as Paul led her around the house with Jarrod following behind to help. He could hear them talking easily amongst themselves, he was happy to see her fit in almost seamlessly with his pack. Sam then turned his attention to Jacob as the young boy stood there toeing the dirt like the child he was portraying.

Sam straightened to his full height of six foot nine inches and said "Jacob" he waited till the boy looked at him before continuing "I understand that this is hard for you to accept, but Bella is my imprint, let there be no mistake on that; and I find myself very fortunate for that fact. As a member of this pack you are to respect the way we do things, even if you don't like them. Now I ask that you remember your age before you speak again, I am your Alpha, that was a choice you made; and I will not have you upsetting _My Mate_ or the harmony of _My Pack_. Is that understood?"

Jacob was silent for a moment before he said quietly "Yes Sam, I understand. I understand that you think you can take my best friend from me, that you think that this stupid thing called imprinting is going to make her love you. You don't even know her, you have never even spoken to her before, and yet you think that you can claim her. I will not let you get away with this Sam; she is supposed to be with me, _not you_." His voice had risen at the end till he was yelling. What he failed to notice was that the others had made it back to the yard with the first load of food, and Bella had clearly heard everything he said.

Bella placed the trays she was carrying on the long picnic table and walked to stand just in front of Sam, she felt better with him close, even if she didn't understand why yet. Paul and Jarrod had told her while getting the food that all would be explained to her, that it was a great thing, and to have an open mind. As this wasn't Bella's first step into the world of weird, she nodded her head and promised to listen to everything before making up her mind. However when she heard the crap coming out of her once best friends mouth, she decided right then and there to set him straight on a few things.

"Jacob what the hell is your problem? I'm not entirely sure about what is happening here, but I know my own mind very well. I am not a piece of property for anyone to claim, nor am I a toy to be fought over. I'm a grown woman weather you like it or not, and I will not have a spoiled little brat tell me who I should and shouldn't be with. I don't know what is happening between Sam and me, but I plan to find out. You have been my friend all my life, and I know you have had a crush on me since before you knew what that meant. But I have never, and will never see you like that. You are family to me, and therefore I'm inclined to give you a second chance, but let me make something very clear to you. If you ever try anything this stupid again, trying to control me in anyway; I promise you that I will never speak to you again. You have no right to lay any claim on me other than friend, but if you keep this up; you won't even have that." Bella said with her hands placed firmly on her hips. Sam was worried for a bit there, but relaxed when she said that she wanted to find out what was between them, he couldn't stop the smile that spread across his face.

Jacob looked shell shocked that the girl in front of him, the girl of his dreams; had just laid into him like that. Billy and Charlie both were watching with pride in their eyes. The rest of the wolves looked impressed, and they all had the thought that this girl, their Alpha female; would be a force to be reckoned with. Unable to come up with a defence for himself, Jacob turned on his heal and ran for the trees, to pout more than likely.

Once he was gone Bella took a deep breath, shook her head and turned to face everyone else "Now as I said I'm not sure what all is going on here, but the explanations will have to wait. There is food to unload, and some of it is time sensitive. I need honest opinions on this stuff because it will help me decide what I want to have in my store when I open. So please don't just inhale it guys, you have to eat it slow enough to actually taste it." Bella smirked at them as Paul and Jarrod along with Embry went to get the rest from out front. She then greeted Billy with a hug, giving him a pointed look that said he would explain before the day was finished, and went to organize the food table.

Sam nodded at the two Chiefs before following his imprint to offer his help. Now that he wasn't focused on Jacob's tantrum, his mouth started to water at the tantalizing smells coming from the trays in front of him. He knew Bella had been over sea's studying the art of cooking, but that was the extent of his knowledge on the matter. He knew other things about her from listening to her father and Billy talk, even Jacob and Embry spoke of her often. Paul standing up for her today had honestly surprised Sam, as Paul didn't stick up for anyone, specifically someone that used to run with their enemy. But Paul seemed to take to her as easy as breathing; Jarrod appeared to do the same, all though he was mellower than any other wolf.

Stepping up beside her Sam said quietly "Bella I know this is all very strange, but I promise I won't push you. Whatever we are to each other is up to you, I just would like to be in your life." He didn't expect her reaction at all.

She spun towards him so fast he thought she would fall over "No Sam, it is not just up to me, whatever we are to each other, needs to be decided between the two of us. I don't want someone in my life that will go from one extreme to the other. A person to tell me what to do or a person to blindly follow. I'll make this clear right now that what I want, what I need; is for someone in my life to work _with_ me. To help me make the big decisions, someone that will come to me when they have their own decisions to make and ask my input. I need a partner, and if you think you can't do that then the most we can ever be is friends. So tell me Sam, can you live with an equal partner or not?"

Sam was impressed to say the least, so was everyone else because they all could hear what was said, he smiled down at the beautiful fiery woman that the great spirits had blessed him with; and without thought swooped down to pick her up. Her body molded to his perfectly, soft where he was hard, her natural scent both calmed and excited him. He whispered into her ear in the softest voice he didn't even know he had "You have no idea how happy that makes me to hear. I want and need a partner too, and I would be overjoyed if that partner was you. We will figure this all out together, I promise you that. I will always be honest with you if you'll do the same with me."

Bella held onto him tightly and said just as softly "Yes Sam, together; and honesty is the best policy all around. Thank you Sam. Now if you are ready to eat I've got some pretty awesome things here." They both pulled back a bit and smiled at each other before Sam set her down and helped her get everything ready. Once everything was laid out, Bella made plates up for everyone so they had a bit of everything. She asked them once again to take their time tasting everything, promising once they were done she would let them eat till their hearts content because she really had made enough for an army. Bella was told that three of their group were not hear yet and wouldn't be for a while, so she placed a good amount of everything that wasn't sensitive to time on plates for the others and wrapped them up. She encouraged them to ask questions about the food, but she could see the burning hungry on all their faces, so she told them to just enjoy.

An hour later after Jarrod thanked Bella profusely for what he called "The most amazing food on the planet" he jogged into the trees to find Jacob and relieve the other two running the boarder. Not even ten minutes later Quil and Seth followed their noses into the Black's backyard. Bella, after greeting the new comers; handed them their food with the same instructions to eat it slow enough to taste it. Sam and Paul were the ones to ask questions about the food, as there were things that they have never even thought to eat before, but very much enjoyed to. Bella answered all questions happily and in simple terms, not that she thought they were slow, they just weren't Chefs. Billy was very impressed when Bella presented him with two containers of food that was for him alone. She explained that it was all very close to what the others had, but specially made to fit his diet needs with his diabetes. It was enough to bring tears to his eyes for the care and effort she was showing, he loved it all, but the weird purple thing she told him was an eggplant dish. After they had given her their opinion as she made notes, she let them eat what they wanted. The guys were skeptical it would truly fill them up, as nothing really did; but were pleasantly surprised when their internal tanks reached full. Even more amazing was the fact that there was still food left on the table, not much; but it was a sight not seen by the wolves. After the dishes were done and all the trays put away, Bella sat back down next to Sam and looked to Billy. She knew he was the Chief of his people and therefore explanations should come from him.

Sam was sitting with his arm around Bella enjoying the closeness; the fire had been lit for the humans that didn't run at 108 degrees. Without prompting the wolves became quiet as Billy sat taller in his chair and began to tell the legends of the Quileute people. Bella had heard them as a child, and again when she first moved back to live with her father, but now she was hearing them knowing that there was more to them. She knew of the 'Cold Ones' and it was something she didn't like to think about anymore, she didn't think badly of the Cullen's; she just had moved past that part of her life. When the legends of the Spirit Warriors turning into wolves were told, the air seemed to become thicker. As she listened to Billy speak in his deep soothing voice, Bella knew that all of what he was saying was very much real. She was in the presence of men that could phase into wolves. One would expect her to be afraid of them, but that wasn't why she felt fear creeping up her spine.

When Billy seemed to be done and silence once more covered the backyard, Sam tensed as the scent of fear mixed with his mate's natural scent. He became worried when she stood up and stepped away from him, but worry turned to confusion when she walked towards her father and kneeled down at his feet and placing her head on his knees. Her body started to shake, and words poured out of her mouth so quiet that even the wolves had trouble hearing her at first, but as Charlie sat there stunned by his daughter the words got louder.

"I'm sorry, so sorry Dad. I never should have been so stupid, and I lied to you, please don't be mad at me. I couldn't tell you Dad, no matter how much I wanted to. I'm sorry, please Daddy I'm sorry." Bella's voice was shaking with her sobs, and it took Charlie a minute to understand why she was saying she was sorry at all; although he was the only one. Charlie reached down and pushed her shoulders back, an action that made her cry harder thinking he was rejecting her; but Charlie pulled her up into his lap instead. He held her tightly to his chest and soothed his hand up and down her back like he did when she was a little girl awoken by a nightmare. He held her head tucked under his chin and closed his own eyes as they burned with tears for his little girl's pain. Once she settled down a bit he spoke with a soft, but firm voice.

"Bella stop saying you're sorry, you did nothing wrong." She started shaking her head to argue, but he just held her tighter and continued "Bells I mean it. I understand more than you know, and I understand that you couldn't tell me everything last year. I'm proud of you for keeping a secret that was not your own, that shows strength and loyalty sweetheart; and you are one of the strongest people I know."

Charlie was quiet for a minute to let that sink in before saying "I learnt all of this not long after you left for school, and it was a lot to process, but never once was I mad at you. So you need to stop apologizing to me, and start to forgive yourself; you hold too much on your shoulders. We are just fine Bells, do you hear me? I don't say it enough, but I love you kid; always have; always will."

Bella's tears had run dry and she held her father for another few minutes before she said "I love you too Dad."

The others in the yard watched as father and daughter had a quiet moment together. Sam now understood what had upset his mate, but a part of him wanted to be the one to comfort her; even though he knew that only her father could at this moment. He agreed with Charlie that it showed strength to keep something so big a secret and he knew Bella wouldn't have a problem keeping the pack a secret as well. Sam was content to wait for his mate to move from her father's embrace, but he couldn't say the same for the younger wolves.

Quil lost his hold on his tongue and blurted out "So you're okay with the fact we aren't all human? That we turn into _giant wolves_?"

Bella turned her head to look at Quil and the others; she saw that they all held some curiosity in their expressions. She smiled at her Dad once more before getting up to stretch, something that was distracting for the young men present; until Sam let out a small growl to avert their eyes from his mate. Bella giggled as she walked over to Sam and sat back down beside him while taking his hand in her own "Well Quil it's fine with me, really. I always did want a pack of puppies of my own." She said with a sweet little smile and it took the wolves all of two seconds before they erupted into loud up roaring laughter.

Bella and the Chiefs joined in as Sam put an arm around her to bring her closer to his side. After the laughter died down Bella once more turned to Sam with a question look, he caught it and smiled; he could guess what she wanted to know.

"Sam do you think I could see, before we have to head home for the night?" Bella said quietly.

With a smile he said "If you really want to, I will show you; but understand that once you see this it can't be unseen." Bella was nodding her head saying "I understand." With a little bit of fear, if he was being honest with himself; Sam hugged her tightly once more and placed a soft kiss on top of her head before standing up and heading for the trees. He could hear Paul telling his mate that he would be right back, and to not be afraid as none of them would ever willing hurt her. Just inside the tree line Sam pulled off his clothes and let the heat over take him. Phasing came as easy as blinking for the Alpha now, after so long his control was near perfect.

Bella watched the trees where Sam had disappeared and she didn't have to wait long for movement to catch her eye. A large black shape started to move towards them and Bella stood, with Paul beside her; to get a better look. When the large pure black wolf entered into the ring of light cast by the fire, Bella gasped. Everyone tensed at the sound, even Charlie; but they didn't need to be afraid she was going to run screaming. Bella had seen this wolf before. With slow steps forward she approached the horse sized wolf, it towered over her as it watched her with large amber eyes that held so much intelligence, and a few other emotions she didn't hope enough to name yet.

Standing not two feet in front of him Bella spoke softly "Sam" his name but a breath of air "It was you. I've seen you before, I hoped somewhere in the world you were real; I just never thought it would be so very close to my own home."

Sam, along with the others; were confused by her words. What did she mean she had seen him before? Sam tilted his large black head to the side as if to question her, and luckily she understood "I've been dreaming of a large black wolf for over a year now. The dream changes from time to time, but the wolf is always the same; and that wolf is you. I'd bet you even have the same mark of white behind your right ear?" Sam wasn't sure if he did or not as no one had ever gotten close enough to check.

Sam was in awe of this beautiful woman, _his_ woman; as she stood before him unafraid. As for her dreaming of his wolf form, he could only guess it was the will of the spirits; and whatever their reason for doing it, Sam was pleased. Sam shifted forward just as Bella raised her hand; she placed it on the side of his face and marveled at the softness under her finger tips. Jarrod running patrol with Jacob watched through their Alpha's eyes as Bella smiled softly and stepped to the side to reach higher up Sam's neck. Much to Jarrod's amusement, and Jacob's disgust, Sam began to purr; a deep rumble at Bella's touch. The four wolves in the yard watched in awe as Sam lowered himself to the ground, bringing himself closer to his mate, the four shifters knew this was a sign of the wolfs acceptance of the female that was to be their mate. They all dropped to their knees in a show of respect for the Alpha pair. She leaned into his side to get a closer look at his ear, then with a smile said in a whisper "Looks like I was right." Paul came up behind her, careful not to touch her and upset his Alpha; looked for himself. Sure enough there was a small white mark behind his ear in the shape of an 'S'. Bella oblivious to their thoughts continued to run both hands over her dream wolf come to life, she made the full circuit around him before coming back in front. Sam gently spread is front paws apart and tugged carefully on her shirt to bring her closer, once again she seemed to naturally understand what he wanted and fit herself into the space he provided. Once she was settled Sam tucked her closer to his massive chest, and then lowered his head over top of her. Sitting like this, Bella was almost completely covered by Sam; she felt warm and safe as she twisted her fingers into his soft thick fur. Without realising it Bella fell asleep curled up with her wolf, listening to the rumble in his chest as his scent calmed her mind. When Sam saw Charlie stand up, he knew he would have to part with her for the time being.

Charlie was happy that his daughter would finally have someone in her life to walk beside her. To love her like she deserved to be loved, he knew that Sam would take good care of her, but that he would never try to control her. Charlie said his good-byes to the others then stepped towards the large wolf holding his daughter and spoke quietly "Sam it's late, I should get her home; however I know you don't want to be away from her right now. The best I can do is have you take her to my truck, and then maybe come get her tomorrow and bring her back so she can get hers. Does that work Sam?"

Sam thought that it was the best he was going to get at the moment, so he lifted his head to nod at Charlie. He turned to nod at Paul, his second in command, for him to come hold Bella so he could phase and get dressed before he would carry her to her father's truck. Seth ran into the woods to grab Sam's clothes to make it faster for him.

Once Paul had lifted Bella carefully, Sam phased back to his human form to dress. Carefully taking Bella back into his arms, he relished in the feeling; followed behind Charlie to his little truck. He caught sight of what must have been his mates Ford Expedition; it was brand new and looked very expensive. Sam knew that Bella had money, from what he heard she had a lot of it; but it didn't bother him like he thought it would. He was raised to be able to take care of himself and his family, but he also was raised to respect woman and their ability to take care of themselves. He hoped it wouldn't be a problem between them in the future, and just held onto the knowledge that they would work it out together.

After gently placing her on the seat of Charlie's truck, he buckled Bella in and placed a kiss on her forehead, happy when she let out a soft sigh. Saying good-bye to the Chief after asking him to make sure Bella knew to call him whenever she was ready to come get her truck, Sam watched the Swan's pull out and head back to Forks. He could only hope that it wouldn't be long before Bella was home here in La Push, hopefully living with Sam himself; he knew he would let her know of his desires and then make a plan with her on where to go from there. Sam starred long after the truck was gone from view, and stayed that way even when he heard Paul walk towards him, stopping to his right. Both men were silent for a few minutes before Paul spoke "I'm happy for you Sam, she is an amazing woman. Treat her right, and trust that the spirits know what they are doing. I know this sounds strange coming from me, I am an asshole after all" Both men chuckled at that, it was the truth after all. "However I think this is a turning point for all of us. My wolf is very, pleased I guess you could say; that my Alpha has his mate. He can tell that she is your perfect match. She is strong, but kind. She obviously is a caretaker like you and she can cook like nothing any of us have ever seen before. Everything will work out in the end, we will all protect her, she's pack now and always. The only issue I can see is Jacob, what do you want to do about him?" Paul finished with his arms crossed over his chest waiting for Sam to answer.

Sam was pleased that Paul, their resident bastard, approved of his mate so much. He knew the others did as well, all but Jacob. Sam knew what needed to be done and went to inform Billy, not only as Jacob's father, but Chief of their tribe. Billy was already waiting at the kitchen table when Sam came inside; he motioned for Sam to sit as Paul took up a spot leaning on the counter. The other wolves must have headed home already as the yard was quiet, Paul could see from the window that they had put the table and chairs away; as well as dousing the fire.

Once Sam sat down he looked at Billy and said strongly, but not rudely "Chief Black I know that Jacob is your son, but he is one of my wolves; and I will not allow him to get away with his actions towards my mate or myself. It was disrespectful, and he needs to make reparations for his wrong doing. I will have him run every day this week, as well as apologize to Bella; and he will be warned that any future infraction that may happen will be met with a harsher punishment. Am I clear on this Chief Black?" Sam did not ask if it was acceptable, as Billy had no say over how Sam dealt out punishments for his wolves.

Billy looked as if he expected this, and nodded his head before saying "I understand Alpha Uley." They both sat in silence just starring at one another before Billy spoke once more "Now I want you to understand this Sam, Bella is like another daughter to me, and if you hurt her in anyway shape or form, you will not only have to answer to Chief Charlie Swan; but me as well. Is that understood?" Sam could hear Paul trying to hide his laughter, but he took what Billy said to heart. He knew Bella was loved, and well protected apparently.

"Yes Billy I understand completely" Sam said looking the older man straight in the eye before standing to head out, smacking Paul upside the head as he passed. It only served to make him laugh harder. Sam smiled as he stepped outside, he would love to head home and pass out before he had to run patrol in the early morning, but he knew that he would be spending the night curled up close to the Swan's house, he couldn't even think about leaving her unguarded with random vampires running around. That and he hoped it would lessen the ach in his chest that had been getting worse since her father's truck drove away.

Sam awoke feeling blissfully happy and content, the feel of his mate, his wife curled into his side was a feeling he could never get enough of. He could tell by the muted light that it was just before dawn and time for him to get up to take over patrol. His mind wondered back over the last year and a half as he held his mate for a few more minutes.

Bella spent a lot of time in La Push after that fateful day at the Black's. When she wasn't able to see her wolf, Bella made it a point to at least talk on the phone with him daily. She spent time with each of the wolves, but none more than Sam. In those first few weeks they learnt so much about each other, and grew closer together. Bella didn't spend time with the other wolves because she felt she had to, but because she wanted to. Bella never had a problem with what they were; she knew that they were created to help, to protect people. She helped Seth, Quil and Embry with their school work as finals were coming up fast; and two of them were graduating that year. She encouraged Paul and Jarrod to take online collage courses to help them achieve their dreams as well. The only one that stayed clear of her was Jacob, but there was nothing anyone could do about that. Bella tried to talk to him a week after the incident, but he just snapped at her and told her to leave him alone. After she calmed Sam and Paul down so they didn't beat him into the dirt, she looked Jacob right in the eye and said "If that is what you wish, so be it. Let me know when you grow up and stop acting like a child that was denied a cookie." After that day whenever Jacob was around, Bella would say 'Hello' and 'Good-bye' and that was it. She ignored his presence entirely. All of the wolves loved Bella in their own way, and she gave her love freely back to them. Paul was almost as close to her as Sam was, and loved to tease her, telling her she was the 'fiery kitten trying to win against the big bad wolf'. Sam still laughed about her response to this day. Bella found the only thing that can hurt a shifter, other than a vampire; she threatened his food source. When Bella stated she wouldn't feed Paul anymore, he dropped to his knees so fast the floor shook. He begged for a good twenty minutes before Bella forgave him, and promptly handed him a container meatloaf and potatoes. All the wolves were more careful when they teased Bella from then on.

Bella also made it a point to get to know the other imprints, Kim was a nice girl that had loved Jarrod forever; but the she was painfully shy. She was slowly brought out of her shell by Bella's kind heart and supportive words; Jarrod was excited to see his mate become more comfortable with his pack. He thanked his Alpha female constantly for her help. Quil's imprint was a girl named Claire, she had just moved to La Push to live with her grandmother to assist the elder woman. Claire had gone into the general store owned by the Ateara family and met Quil; it was lust at first sight for the both of them. Bella was always good at getting them to think with their brains and not just their hormones.

Sam and Bella grew closer, but their physical relationship didn't go beyond hand holding and cuddling. Both were happy with it for now, but as their connection deepened they both craved more. A week after they met they shared their first kiss, but it was another three weeks before they both gave into the pull to be together completely. Sam always remembered that day with a smile.

Sam, Paul and Jarrod and just started a new small two day job in Forks, they were just sitting down for morning coffee when Bella's Expedition pulled up to the job site. All three wolves stood to greet her, but also scanned the area for any potential danger to the Alpha female. When she parked and almost flew into Sam's arms they were unsure what to think, Sam held her close and said "Bella sweetheart are you okay? Please tell me what's wrong." Paul and Jarrod had both taken up defensive positions around the pair.

Bella pulled back enough for Sam to see the big smile on her face, and he was happy to see it; but it left him even more confused. When Bella saw the state her hasty actions had put her wolves in she had a moment of guilt for worrying them, she knew she had to say something to make them understand.

"Nothing is wrong Sam, I'm sorry for making you all think that, I actually have great news. I heard back from the counsel this morning." Sam and the others relaxed, and he brought Bella over to sit with them, after giving her a bottle of water he encouraged her to continue with a smile and nod.

She didn't disappoint "They said that they loved my idea and the potential to bring in more business to the community, they asked that any work that needed to be done to the building was done from within the community. Who else did they think I would ask to help; of course I will ask you Sam, it's a lot of work that needs to be done; I just hope you have the time to do it."

Sam knew he had to reassure her before she got herself even more worked up "Sweetheart I'm so happy for you, this is great news. We will go look at it as soon as you get the keys and we'll make a plan of action. I'll make time to do it I promise, being the boss has its advantages, I can switch some stuff around. It will all work out. Now I think celebrating is in order, do you think you'd like to go out to dinner with me tonight?" He asked with a smile. The other two wolves just smirked and said their own congratulations to Bella; they knew how important this was to her. Bella was happy to go to dinner with Sam, so after making a time that he would pick her up, she left after kissing him senseless, and the guys were laughing at the dazed look on his face as she drove away.

Later after Sam was cleaned up from work and patrols figured out for the next few days, Sam drove out of La Push on his way to pick up Bella. When she answered the door Sam was rendered speechless. Her hair was loose behind her in big curls, the front pulled back with a small diamond clip, she had on light eye make-up and her lips had a soft shine to them. The light grey dress she was wearing wrapped her figure beautifully and fell to just below her knees; on her feet were white low heel sandals. Her giggle brought his attention back to the big smile on her face; Sam could feel his cheeks heat up and hoped his darker skin would hide it. After she said good-bye to Charlie, she grabbed a soft cream leather jacket and followed Sam to his truck; because of its height he had to help her up onto the seat; his hands lingered on her waist. They talked about what Bella wanted her shop to have on the drive to PA, and Sam made suggestions as to the materials that could be used. Once they arrived at a little restaurant on the water front, they enjoyed a simple meal together talking about all sorts of things, from work and the pack, to dreams of the future. When dinner was finished and Sam paid the bill with nothing more than an eye roll from Bella, they held hands as they walked along the water front; sometimes in comfortable silence.

Sam knew it was getting late and that he should get her home, but he didn't want to leave her yet; just as he was trying to think of some way to prolong their time together Bella spoke.

"Sam I was wondering, and feel free to say no; but Charlie is working the night shift tonight and I don't want to be alone. I want to spend more time with you, and I was wondering if maybe. . ." Her voice trailed off before she got it all out. Sam was ecstatic that she wanted to spend more time with him, but he didn't get his hopes up for her wanting to be with him completely yet. He knew at some point he would be able to claim his mate fully and seal the imprint bond so his wolf would settle, but he wouldn't force anything before its time.

He stopped their forward movement and pulled her gently into his arms, he cupped her face in one hand to tilt it up so he could look into her beautiful milk chocolate eyes before saying "Bella I don't want to leave you either, I love spending time with you; tell me what it is you want and I'll do my best to make it happen."

A beautiful blush stole over her face, but she kept her eyes on his as she said quietly "I was wondering if maybe I could come to La Push and stay with you tonight? I'd have to stop at home and get a bag for tomorrow as I'm meeting with the realtor in the afternoon to sign paperwork. I don't expect anything to happen; I just want to be with you."

Sam was thrilled that she wanted to be with him, and in his home. The smile on his face was so big it hurt his cheeks. Bella was biting her lower lip as she watched the emotions play across Sam's face, he leaned down to kiss her; pulling her lip from her teeth and into his mouth instead. The kiss quickly became heated as they lost themselves in each other, for a time nothing existed outside of them. Sam pulled back to let her breath but his lips never left her skin as he trailed soft kisses to her cheek and down her neck. He brought his lips to hear ear and whispered "I would love for you to come home with me tonight, and every night if I'm being honest; even if all I get is to hold you in my arms all night." They headed back to Sam's truck after Bella agreed with a smile.

The drive seemed to fly by on the way back to Sam's house, with a quick stop at Bella's to grab a bag and leave a note for Charlie letting him know where she was so he didn't worry. Sam led her in the front door with a hand on her back and walked her back to his room so she could put her bag down; he was thankful he had cleaned the house the day before. After they returned to the living room they decided to watch a movie as it wasn't too late yet, both sat with a beer on the couch curled into one another. Neither was really watching the movie as they were each lost in thought, and it was Bella that made the first move.

It was subtle as she placed her bottle on the coffee table and turned her body more into Sam's side, her hand resting on his lower stomach; just above his jeans. He loved the feel of her so close, and was having a hard time keeping his hands in appropriate places. Sam wasn't a virgin, but it had been since before his first phase since he had been with a woman. He knew he could be careful with his strength, but with imprinting a very real possibility as a wolf, he didn't want to hurt someone by being in a relationship that he couldn't give himself completely to. Bella was his mate, his imprint and the urge to claim her was getting stronger by the second. As her lips found the skin of his neck Sam couldn't help the low moan that came from the back of his throat. Bella encouraged by the sound shifted to reach more of his sweet tasting skin and ended up straddling his lap, Sam quickly put his beer bottle down on the side table and placed his large hands on her hips. When he squeezed her closer, Bella responded with a roll of her hips, which caused both of them to moan. Sam tipped his head back to give her more room, he loved the feeling of her petal soft lips against his skin, and the feel of her on top of him was quickly driving him crazy. He knew that if they didn't stop soon that he may not be able to at all, as he could feel his wolf pushing closer to the surface; he didn't want to do something that could hurt or upset her.

It took great effort to still her grinding hips, as all he wanted to do was rip all the barriers that separated them away and slid into her, he spoke in a hoarse voice "Baby if you don't stop now, I don't think I'll be able to. I want you so bad, but I don't want to do something you aren't ready for." Sam knew from talks that they had that Bella had never been with anyone before, she told him that no one felt right. It was something that pleased him more than it should have.

Bella sat back on his thighs and placed both her tiny, yet strong; hands on his chest "What if I don't want to stop Sam? I know you have experience and I don't, but I want you, and I don't want to wait anymore. But if you don't want to then I understand; I'm sorry." She wasn't looking at his face, so she didn't see the joy and shock at her words. When Bella tried to move herself off of him, Sam held her still and waited for her to look at him before he spoke.

"Bella Swan of course I want you, can't you feel how much?" he pulled her closer to him so there was no doubt in her mind "If you're ready sweetheart then I'll go as slow as you need, as we both need. The last thing I want to do is hurt you, but there will be a little pain. And I want to make it very clear, that yes I have some experience; none of it matters because being with you will be like nothing before. It will be perfect because it's us, together. I haven't said it before and I should've, but here goes. I love you Bella, I love everything about you. I could spend every day from now until forever learning new things about you and it would never be enough. You are all that I want and need, please let me show you." With that Sam leaned forward to capture her lips with his and poured all of his feelings into it, she responded with just as much love and passion.

When they broke apart for air, Bella breathed the words into his mouth "I love you too Sam, with everything that I am. I can't see my life without you in it, and I don't want to. Take me to bed Sam, take me and don't let go." Sam was on his feet before she was done speaking, his fast movements caused her to laugh and bury her face into his neck. Sam walked towards his bedroom and set Bella down just inside the door. He knew that he needed a minute to calm down so he didn't scare her with his overwhelming need. She excused herself to the bathroom as he went to put the bottles away and turn everything off, as he locked the front door and headed to his room where he could hear his mate moving around; Sam tried to calm down. He was in front of the bedroom door before he had any success, so he took one more deep breath before opening the door and fully stepping inside. The sight before him arrested the air in his lungs.

Bella was standing in front of the window; she was bathed in moon light from the surprisingly clear sky. She had taken the clip out of her hair, and when she turned to face him, he saw that all traces of make-up were gone as well; not that she needed it. Her skin was pale, so much so that it appeared to glow slightly in the low light. Sam closed the door softly behind him as he looked her over from head to toe, and he thanked the Great Spirits for blessing him with this magnificent woman. He noticed as he slowly walked towards her that her breathing and heart rate picked up, he hoped it was from excitement and not fear. As he got closer he could smell her arousal thick in the air, it set his body on fire; he breathed deeply to pull as much of the heavenly scent in as he could. Once he was in reach, Bella lifted her arms to unbutton his shirt without a word, her hands against his skin as they ghosted up his shoulders to make his shirt fall, made him tingle all over as he jeans got uncomfortably tight. He didn't stop her when she moved onto his belt and button fly, he got the feeling she needed to do this at her pace. As was his normal, once his jeans fell he was completely bare. Sam took pride in the gasp that came from his mate when she saw him all for the first time, he loved the way her eyes couldn't settle on anyone part of him for long. Until his manhood twitched, it drew her eyes like a magnet, she licked her lips and Sam growled lowly in approval. When her eyes came back to his, he was sure that desire he saw was burning in his eyes as well, he just prayed she could see the love he held for her too. After kicking his jeans further away Sam lifted a hand to her face to tilt it back so he could kiss her. Bella stood still as they kissed; she felt his other hand reach for the tie at her side; and with a small tug half the dress fell away. After he had the second inside bow undone, he gently pushed the soft cloth off her shoulders, he couldn't stop the moan when she stood before him in nothing but black lace bra and panties. Her body was toned, strong from her regular exercise routine, but still soft as a woman should be. Her breast were full and perky, he could imagine how well they would fit in his hands. Her waist was thin, but not unhealthy; and flowed gracefully into perfect round hips, down to long shapely legs that went on for miles. He couldn't wait for those to be wrapped around him in as many ways as possible.

Sam picked her up without warning loving the startled intake of air, and the way she wrapped herself around him. He lied her down on his large king size bed and laid down to her side. Leaning in to kiss her again as he could never get enough of her taste, Sam ran his hand softly over her skin hoping to relax her. Bella had one hand in his hair, pulling him closer; and sometimes running her nails down the back of his neck. Whenever she did that he would moan into her mouth and grid his hard length into her hip without thought. After making out for a while, Sam knew he needed to keep moving forward; so he reached under her to unhook her bra. When it was undone he pulled back to look at her to make sure that she was still okay with what was happening. It would be hard to stop now, but he would if he had to; he never wanted to hurt her.

Bella saw that he was waiting for a green light from her and she gave it without pause "Please Sam don't stop. I need you; I need you to make love to me. I am already yours; now claim me like I know you want too." She smiled challengingly up at him.

"Oh Bella, it's not wise to taunt a hungry wolf" Sam said smirking as he reached down and pulled the sides of her lace panties, careful not to hurt her; he split the sides and ripped them right off her. Her gasp and moaning of his name was the final straw that snapped his control. Sam reached around to feel the ass that he had been dreaming about for almost a month, he had felt it before when they had been kissing heavily; but to have no material in the way; was an incredible feeling. He trailed kisses down her neck to her collar bone, loving the way she tasted; it was all natural as she wore no perfume of any kind. He kissed and nibbled his way to her perfect breasts, circling her dark pink nipples with his tongue until she was arcing into his mouth. Once Sam pulled one tight bud into his mouth and the other he rolled in between his thumb and finger, Bella became louder; her moans were like music to her wolf. Sam moved himself to lie in between her legs and he could feel the heat coming from her core in waves. Her scent got stronger as he kissed down her body heading straight for the source of the mouth watering smell, but as he got closer to the apex of her thighs; Bella began to tense up. Sam knew he had to reassure her and get her to relax again or when he entered her it would only hurt more.

Still kissing her toned stomach Sam spoke words to try and help his mate "It's all right sweetheart, it will feel good I promise. Your scent is driving me crazy, it's so good; I want to be able to taste you. If you don't like it I'll stop, but please let me try." Sam placed both hands on her hips as he nipped gently across her skin. When he felt he relax back into the sheets as she ran her fingers through his hair once more, he took that as a green light and slowly moved south.

As Sam moved down Bella let her legs fall to the side, she wasn't sure if she was going to like this, but she trusted Sam completely. She knew if she said stop that he would, and he would still love her. Her mind was still reeling from the fact that he loved her, she knew some would say it was too soon; but Bella knew how short life could be. If you love someone, tell them; as you may not get another chance. Before she knew what was happening, hot burning pleasure flared out across her body, starting from where Sam's wonderful tongue was licking up her core. He must have found something he liked because he moaned and began moving faster, like he was trying to get ever drop of her essence. Bella couldn't think of anything but what her mate was making her feel; she withered and twisted from the intense bliss caused by this man. Just when she thought she would shatter, Sam's finger slowly pushed inside of her till he was knuckle deep. The odd sensation brought her away from the blissful edge she was clinging to, but not for long. As Sam kept licking and nipping on and around her clit, he added a second finger to help stretch her; as he differently wasn't little.

Sam could feel her start to shake, indistinctive words poured out of her mouth; so he curled his fingers up into her g-spot just as he sucked her clit and bit down gently. The combined pleasure catapulted her head first into waves of ecstasy she never could have thought possible. He pulled his fingers from her and replaced them with his tongue, sending her into another orgasm. Sam growled at the concentrated taste of his mate as she gushed into his eager mouth. After licking her clean and bring her down gently, he knew he had to be inside her before he himself exploded. Crawling up her body he placed kisses along her skin until he reached her mouth and kissed her with bruising force, letting her taste herself on his lips. She moaned and kissed him back just as hard not bothered at all by the taste of herself.

Bella wrapped her legs up around his hips as she felt his hard length at her entrance, she was a bit worried he wouldn't fit, but that thought left her as he pushed in slightly. The stretch didn't hurt really, and it was easy to ignore with the electricity that was rapidly racing between them. Because of their height difference, Sam had to stop kissing her and brace himself up on his arms to be able to push into her fully. He spoke words of love and need as he starred into her eyes. Sam pushed forward slowly, letting her body adjust to his size; he had to take deep breathes and focus on her face or he would drive into her with force. As it was he was so close to his own release that he had to start naming types of trees so he didn't cum like a fourteen year old watching porn for the first time.

As he got to her barrier he paused to gage her reaction, when she placed her hand on his face and pulled him closer with her legs; he knew she still wanted this with him. With a fast push of his hips he broke through her innocence and finally became one with his mate. Bella gasped at the stinging feeling, but found that it was nothing like she thought it would be, she was soon wrapped up and lost in all things Sam.

After giving her a moment to adjust, Sam started to move slowly in and out of her; overwhelmed with the feeling of rightness in the act. Their skin was covered in a fine sheen of sweat that shone in the moon light still pouring in the window. Time meant nothing as they moved together in a dance as old as time. Sam could feel his wolf rising to the surface wanting to mark their mate, but Sam wasn't sure if he should bite her; he didn't want to do it without her permission.

He didn't even realise when he started to speak out loud, but Bella heard him saying the words "Need to mark, my mate, please baby." She understood what he wanted, what his inner wolf needed. So she told him so "Sam it's okay, I know what you need. I'll gladly wear your mark. I love you Sam, all of you."

Some part of him was awed by her words; the rest of him saw the submission of his mate as she turned her head to expose her neck to him. Sam knew he had to get a better angle on her, so he quickly pulled out and turned her onto her hands and knees; thankfully she seemed to like him manhandling her if her increased moans were any indicator. After sliding back into her and pushing deep enjoying the way she clenched around him, he pushed her hair off of her left shoulder and was stunned by what he saw. Just between her shoulder blades was a tattoo, and not just any tattoo; but a black wolf paw print. It was about the size of his palm, and he felt that it was another connection between them. He planned to ask her more about it later, for now he leaned in to lick up and down her neck. While braced on one arm he held her hip with the other as he picked up his pace, driving deeper and harder into her with every thrust. The angle of his thrusts caused him to hit her g-spot with every push and pull of his hips; he knew her throat would be sore the next day from the sharp screams she was making. Soon Bella was tightening like a vice as she once more feel over the edge of bliss screaming Sam's name, and he bit into her neck just enough to break skin and let himself go with a roar that shook the house around them; following her into euphoria.

After they were both spent Sam stayed within her as he eased them down onto their sides, he needed to tend to the bite and seal it; so that anyone and everyone would know she was his. Sam licked his bite mark until it healed, a nice trait that the wolves were able to share with their mates; and held her close as her breathing calmed down. Soon he felt her body go completely limp and knew that she had fallen asleep, he didn't want to move from where he was; so he carefully pulled the sheet over them both. He pulled her closer to his chest and let sleep take him into the best night's rest of his life with his bonded mate safe in his arms.

Bella shifting in his arms drew him back into the present, she pushed deeper into his chest with her back; and her beautiful little rear pushed into his morning wood. He groaned into her hair as he gently pushed back seeking friction, but knew he didn't have time to really do anything; for if he didn't get up now he would be late.

With a sigh he pulled back away from her and kissed the paw print tattoo that he loved so much. When he asked her about it she told him she got it while in Paris, said it made her feel safer with a part of her wolf with her at all times. Sam felt the exact same way. He rubbed a hand up her arm to turn her just enough to steal a kiss before he slipped out and let her sleep a while longer. "Sorry sweetheart, I'm going to be late if I don't get up now, but I promise to make it up to you later when I get home."

"Okay babe, be safe, love you" Bella said without opening her eyes, she accepted his kiss with a sigh then curled deeper under the blanket he placed over her to help ward off the chill his absence caused.

He smiled down at his sleeping wife once more before heading into the bathroom to relieve himself and brush his teeth, before heading downstairs to grab a muffin and a bottle of water before leaving to take over patrol. He looked around the kitchen that was less than three months old. After Bella and Sam were together that first time, their relationship moved forward very quickly. Bella got her cafe/book store up and running in less than two months, the pack doing all the renovations in only three weeks after she got the keys. She moved in with Sam officially just before the grand opening. Bella hired staff from La Push to help run it, so she could focus on her passion; cooking. She hired Emily Young, cousin to the Clearwater family, and a friend of Sam's from when they were younger. Paul imprinted on her one day when he went to borrow Bella's vehicle, that was now more than half the pack imprinted, and Emily was the perfect mate to Paul. Kim, Jarrod's imprint; also worked for Bella helping with the paperwork and books. A few others were hired from the community as well, but only part time.

Sam asked her to marry him on the Fourth of July on top of the cliffs above Second beach; they ended up spending the night under the stairs making love after she said yes. They were happy in Sam's little house, but he knew that it wouldn't be enough when they had children; it was only two bedrooms. So after they married in late August, held at Second beach; they started to look around La Push for something bigger. After many hopefuls, and even more tears of frustration from Bella as nothing seemed to fit what they wanted; they talked about building their own home. Bella said that the money wasn't a problem as they were married so everything she had was now Sam's too, they both had successful businesses; and Sam and the pack would be building it anyways. Sam had no argument for that, so they talked to Charlie about what he thought. He was all for the idea, he wanted nothing but his daughters happiness.

Charlie was still very much involved in his daughter's life, next to Sam; he was her biggest supporter. He had dinner with them at least once a week, and Bella stocked his house with her fabulous food every week. The Chief had recently started to date Joan Ateara, Quil's mother, and all looked on track for a summer wedding. It would make Bella and Quil step siblings, something that the others found odd; but the two of them loved. Charlie went with the newlyweds when they approached the counsel about building above Second beach; it was a spot that meant so much to both of them. It took a lot of pleading, and for Sam to state that as Alpha of the tribe's protectors, he should be able to build a home that was fitting of his duties. It was a line of crap in reality, but it seemed to do the trick. Sam and Bella got the approval and went to an architect to have the floor plans drawn up; the first thing to go up was Bella's large Green-House. She said she was use to cooking with fresh ingredients, and didn't want to have to drive into PA three times a week to get them. She also bribed the wolves with the promise of extra goodies if they helped with its up kept, it was a big job; and she would be using half the yield for her wolves anyways.

The house was huge, five bedrooms, five bathrooms, living room and man cave. A large dream kitchen for Bella, and dining room that could seat twenty, as well as a home office/library. It had large windows to maximize light, and a wraparound porch. It looked like a large wood cabin with its exposed beams and natural hardwood floors. It had two wood burning stone fireplaces, and solar panels on the roof. Bella put flower beds and pots all around the house and up the path to the green-house that was located just at the edge of the backyard.

The pack still had to chase down the odd vampire that came to close to their lands, but the one that had been slipping through their fingers, finally met her end. Although no one expected it to happen the way it did.

Sam headed out of the house and into the woods, when he phased in Embry was just on the north end of the res and with a tired good-bye to Sam, headed towards his home and phased out. Sam was left with his thoughts once more, and he was thinking about how close he came to losing his mate at the hands of 'Red'.

Sam and Paul had been on a small job in PA when both of their phones had started to ring, a feeling of dread washed over Sam in that second, and the imprint bond gave a violent tug in his chest. When they both opened their phones they could hear the yelling in the background of the rest of the pack, someone yelled the Cullen's were back just as Jarrod said in Sam's ear that 'Red' had Bella. Sam dropped his phone and ran into the woods to phase with Paul right on his heels, it would be faster than driving, but it wasn't fast enough for either of them. Every wolf was now phased with them and giving them all the information they had. Jarrod was facing the Cullen's at the treaty line with Jacob and Quil, Seth and Embry were fifty feet away from where Red held Bella just inside the trees by First beach. As far as any of them were concerned the Cullen's could wait, they all wanted to go to and protect their Alpha's Mate; but every time they went to turn away from the line a few of the Cullen's tried to cross. So they were stuck.

Sam and Paul headed for Bella without question, Sam was running off of pure instinct to save his mate, but once he was close he had to slow down and figure out a way to get Bella safely out of harm's way. Then he would rip Red apart slowly for ever daring to come near his Bella. What he came upon was not at all what he expected. Bella and Red were sitting and talking calmly, Bella wasn't afraid, she actually seemed sadder than anything. Seth and Embry were lying on their bellies now only forty feet away, they were on alert and ready; but not foaming at the mouth like Sam and Paul were.

Bella must have felt when Sam got close because she spoke to him without turning from the vampire in front of her "Sam I'm okay, I promise. I need you to stay where you are; everything is going to be fine. This will be over soon, and then we'll go home for dinner."

She spoke so calmly that you had to believe her, but Sam and his wolf couldn't stand to see his mate, his wife so close to his enemy. However he knew that if he were to rush in, Bella could be hurt, or worse; and he wasn't willing to take that chance. He had to order Paul to stand down so he didn't run ahead to protect the woman he viewed as his sister. Sam stayed on his feet, but didn't move forward at all.

Bella spoke then "Victoria thank you for telling me, I can understand your pain better than most. I lost people that were very close to me, and it still hurts everyday that they are gone. That pain never truly goes away, so I understand wanting it to end the only way you can. I promise to remember your story and pass it on in the hope that it will help others in time. May you find what you are looking for in the afterlife, whatever that may be." With that Red, or Victoria, closed her eyes with a smile and mouthed 'Thank you'. Bella held something in her hand and flicked it towards the stone corpse in front of her. Flames sprung to life and engulfed Red so fast it was almost unseen by the wolves. Sam was already running for Bella as she threw herself backwards and rolled a few times to get away from the fire, at the last second he phased back to human so he could pick her up a move away as the other wolves moved in to stand guard over the burning Cold One.

Sam's wolf was so close to the surface still that he didn't care who was around, he started stripping the leech scented clothing off his mate and checked her for injuries. The rest of the pack relaxed a little now that Bella was safe, but were on high alert still with seven vampires standing on their boarder. When Bella was bare before him, Sam started the process of washing away the leech scent with his tongue; he had his mate withering and moaning in minutes. He needed to re-mark her after coming so close to losing her, and the other wolves scattered when he flipped her over and entered her in one thrust. He moved within her at a maddening pace, still careful not to hurt her. All the wolves and Cullen's; heard as Bella screamed Sam's name as he roared hers, most of La Push probably did. Content that she was unharmed and his mark was fresh, he tried to send her home so he could deal with this other problem; however that didn't work out as he hoped it would. So with great reluctance Sam carried Bella with him, after he dressed her in clothes that Seth dropped off for the both of them; to the treaty line to face her past once more.

Once the Alpha pair were close the wolves closed rank around them, Bella reached out from upon Sam's back to touch each wolf they past; reassuring them she was alright and would explain later. Paul in human form helped her down so Sam could phase, Paul pulled her in close until Sam took her back into his arms. After he kissed his mate, they both turned to face the Cullen's that stood just on the other side of the small clearing; each vampire wore a different expression on their face. Bella stayed tight to Sam's side, not that she was afraid as she really didn't feel anything for the people in front of her; but to help her mate stay calm after so much drama in one day.

Bella was sick of the silence already and just wanted to go home, so she spoke first "Hello." Now the ball was in their court, and Carlisle was the first to find his voice.

"Hello Bella, you're looking well; it's good to see you again." He said this with a small smile she was sure was meant to be friendly, but he actually looked scared for some reason. Bella looked at Jasper standing at the doctor's right, and knew she was correct when he gave her a small nod after he felt her questioning emotions.

Sam spoke next as Alpha of the pack, he wanted this over with so he could take his mate home and find out what happened today "I'm Sam Uley, Alpha of the pack. Why are you here now, you left years ago?" He couldn't hold back his glare even if he wanted to, but he didn't so it mattered little.

All the Cullen's shifted uneasily, all but Jasper; and they all looked to Carlisle to answer. Carlisle looked at Edward, but got a shake of his head in return, so no help there. "We have been tracking the vampire that entered your lands today for a very long time, we came very close to catching her several times; but she has the gift of evasion. We were hoping to be allowed to pass through your lands to be able to try and track her more easily?"

The wolves all let out a laugh when he was done speaking, they must have been crazy to think they would be allowed on their lands without getting ripped apart. Also they were confused as to why they were tracking her in the first place, and why it took them this long to show back up here when she had been around this area so much for the past couple of years? And with Edward with them he should have heard what happened not even an hour ago, they were all thinking of the fact that it was their human Alpha female that ended Red. Bella had told them everything she knew about vampires, even their extra abilities, so why didn't he hear?

"That won't be necessary as she is nothing but ash as we speak. Why is it with your mind reader do you not know this?" Sam said looking at the vampire in question. Sam disliked this vampire more than any other on the planet, for it was him that tried to control his mate.

The vampires all turned to look questioningly towards their son and brother, and Edward simple said "I can't hear them, any of them. They are as quiet to me as Bella is." Everyone could see him wince when he said her name, and Sam growled at him when Bella tucked herself closer into his side. Paul stepped closer to her other side and placed a hand on her shoulder in a show of support. Just as the Cullen's started to talk over each other trying to get answers for what was happening, the wind shifted and Bella caught the scent of burning sugar; and proceed to bend over and throw up. She just managed to miss her wolves feet. Sam wrapped his arm around her to support her weight, Paul looked more worried than he had ever been and turned to send Seth for water. After Seth turned and took off, Bella managed to get her breathing calmed down and slowly stand up. She realised that everyone was very quiet as they watched her, so she turned to look at Sam with a raised brow.

Sam was very worried about his mate, he had a feeling it was the scent of the Cullen's that had set her off; but without giving away their secret he couldn't ask her. "Are you okay now? Seth should be here in a second with water." Sam pulled her gently into his chest and softly rubbed her back in hopes that his scent would block out theirs. It was when she wrapped her arms around his waist that all hell broke loose in the clearing, Bella's left hand caught the light and her wedding ring was visible; most of the vampires started yelling again. Some in disgust, others in anger.

The entire wolf pack snarled at the Cold Ones as they moved forward, just as Seth ran back into the clearing Bella had enough.

"STOP" Bella yelled at the top of her lungs, and everything became still once more. The vampires had never seen her do anything like this so they were stunned; the wolves dropped their heads in guilt for upsetting their Alpha female. Her voice for them carried almost as much power as Sam's did. "That's better, thank you. Now Seth can I have that water bottle please?" Bella said very calmly, it unnerved everyone but Sam. After she had rinsed her mouth and taken a few sips, Bella recapped the water and turned to the people she use to think of as family.

"First and foremost, yes I am married to Sam, happily I might add. It isn't any of your business what I do with my life, so please do not act like you have any say. As you've been told your mission here is pointless, Victoria is ash and cannot hurt anyone else ever again. When you left over three years ago I was made to believe that you would not be coming back, so why are you really here now? And please don't insult my intelligence with another story about hunting Victoria, for if that was true you would have been back much sooner. She hasn't really left this area at all in years." Bella said looking over all the Cullen's. Carlisle and Esme looked sad and guilty; Rose looked pissed off and bored; where Emmett beside her looked at Bella with a smile full of longing. Alice and Edward were looking at her with anger, but Jasper was looking at her with amusement and joy; but Bella wasn't sure why?

Jasper thought that it was great to see the once shy girl they knew standing before them as a strong confident woman. He could see that the wolves, all of them; held her near and dear to their hearts. He watched how they moved around her, ready to defend; but also not crowd her as a sign of respect. Jasper also theorized that Bella's natural ability to block out his brother was somehow extended to the wolves as she was clearly the Alpha's mate. He could see the bite mark on her neck, very freshly remarked; and thought that the Alpha had absorbed some of her gift when he took her blood. Because the wolves are said to be very closely linked, it must affect all of them.

Apparently that was as long as Edward could hold his tongue "Bella what are you doing with these dogs? I left so that you would be safe from the supernatural world, and you went and found the first monsters you could. You don't have to live like this anymore, come with me and it can go back to how it was, when we were happy love." As Edward spoke the growls from the wolves got louder, Sam was snarling, but once again everything went silent after the sound of crashing boulders rang through the trees. It took a few seconds to realize what happened.

Jasper had stepped away from Carlisle's side and punched Edward right in the mouth; he must have also used his gift, as Edward looked knocked out. Something that didn't happen to creatures that don't sleep. "Sorry about that, I've been waiting decades to hit him; and he wasn't going to shut up on his own. Now let's get to the heart of the matter so we can all go home, as I'm sure Bella would like to rest after the day she has had." Jasper turned and looked right at the Alpha pair as he spoke "The reason we are here is because Edward wanted Bella back, he was bored without her, and he felt he had the right to claim her. The family agreed, as they tend to just give Edward whatever he wants, I however knew it wasn't going to work. Now as everyone here can see Bella is a happily married woman with a large family of her own. Some of us did not agree three years ago when we were forced to leave Forks, but I see now that it was for the best. As for the issue with Victoria, we have not been hunting her, as no one believed me when I said that she was a problem that shouldn't be ignored. Looks like I was right" Jasper sent a pointed look to the other vampires before saying "We will leave now peacefully and let you return to your lives without future involvement from us. Bella I hope you do not think ill of me, but I am truly sorry for my actions in the past, I wish you all the best darling. I will always consider you family, and will help you in any way that I can should the need arise."

Bella was touched by his words, and had a few things to say as well "Thank you Jasper, that means a lot to me. If I ever do need your help, I'll ask. As for what happened three years ago, it is in the past, and I do not think badly of you for it. I knew the risks, and stayed near your family anyways. I do have one request from all of you if I may?" Bella looked quickly at Sam and gave him a questioning look, when he smiled and nodded she said "I would like to request that your family please avoid coming back to this area. I know that the location is ideal for the way you choose to live, but your presence sets off a chain reaction that has far reaching consequences. You see it was your family's presence here that triggered the shift in these Quileute men, even after you were gone from the area, the damage was done. Your being here also draws others of your kind to the area, so my wolves are forced to be on constant alert."

They were all saddened by the thought of never coming back here, but understood why they were being asked to stay away. "I'm very sorry to hear that, had we known we would not have come back. Please rest assured that my family will not move back to this area again, we are sorry; truly." Carlisle spoke for his family, and they all knew his word was final. Sam and Carlisle spoke about the treaty, and how long until the vampires left the area for good; it was decided that they would have 24 hours. Some of the Cullen's wanted to talk more with Bella, but they could see that it wasn't going to happen, now or ever. Bella didn't feel bad about that at all, she just wanted to be with her family; and the Cullen's were no longer part of hers. So with a wave they turned to head back to their house, carrying Edward with them; they would be sure to clean it out completely as they wouldn't be back. After they were gone the pack as a whole turned to their Alpha pair to find out what happened with Bella, and as the pair smiled and held each other close, Sam placed his hand low on her stomach with a smile. Paul was the first to figure it out; the pack was expecting their first baby. The celebration that weekend involved nearly the entire tribe. Luckily the Cullen's held to their word, and never came back to the area ever again.

Sam was just coming up on the southern border when he felt Seth phase in, after letting him know that there was nothing new; Sam turned to run home. Hopefully Bella had gotten more sleep, as she seemed to get less and less as her due date drew closer. Coming to the edge of his backyard Sam stopped to phase and pull on his shorts, before heading inside where he could hear his wife in the kitchen. Sam smiled as he entered the back door, the scent of his mate strong in the air; mixing wonderfully with the many amazing aromas of the food she was cooking. Even eight and a half months pregnant she still was cooking like a dream, and enough to feed the pack to full; not an easy task at all for anyone.

Sam leaned against the doorframe that led into the kitchen and watched as his mate joked and laughed with the wolves that were hanging around, all while chopping and slicing only god knows what with swift skillful movements. It wasn't uncommon to find one or six wolves in his house, either in the kitchen or green-house out back. Some came to just hang out, others for the peaceful atmosphere that his home provided; and everyone came for Bella's food.

Bella turned from the counter and through a carrot at Paul for something he said that Sam missed, when she caught sight of her husband leaning in the doorway. The smile she gave he was big and bright, so full of love and contentment. Sam pushed off the doorway to walk over to her for a kiss which she happily returned, and then he dropped down to his knees to speak to his child. As he placed light kisses on her stomach he spoke "Hey baby you being good for Mommy this morning?" Her belly jumped a little as if the baby was trying to answer it's father, but when Bella grunted Sam said "Shh shh baby take it easy on Mommy, you don't want to hurt her do you? No I didn't think so. You just wait, in a couple more weeks you can come out and kick all you want." Sam smiled up at his mate and found her watching him with an indulgent smile, one she wore more often than not lately.

"Hey Sam can I see your man card? Oh wait no, you lost that already right." Paul called from the table with a laugh and didn't even have time to move before he felt something fly past his head. All sound stopped when they turned to look at the knife sticking out of the wall just millimeters from Paul's ear. Sam stood and gently pulled his angry mate into his arms as he rubbed her back, and just like he expected the tears started to flow almost instantly. He just held her and let her calm down, telling her over her broken apologises that it was alright and they understood. She had been known to throw things at which ever wolf made her mad, and with her knife handling skills had drawn blood more than once. It however always upset her and made her cry, something that Sam hated; for he felt useless when it came to tears.

Paul felt bad for upsetting her; he knew how sensitive she was right now with the pregnancy hormones and all. So he walked over to where she was clinging to Sam and held out his arms knowing he had to make her see that he was okay before she would calm down. Sam gave him a glare but handed her over, once she was in Paul's arms Sam turned to finish the food, he had gotten very good at cooking thanks to his beautiful wife. It only took Paul a few minutes till he had her laughing again saying things like "I'm sorry Bells I should know better than to tease the human that can destroy vampires and leash an entire wolf pack; I'll wash the dishes if it will make you feel better. I'll even remember to do the pots this time." Paul said grinning down at her, and her giggles had them all relaxing.

"I was thinking about that on patrol this morning actually, and even after all this time it still doesn't fully make sense to me." Sam said from the stove. Embry and Quil just looked to Bella as they knew she would have something to say about that fateful day. Jake just entered in the backdoor as she turned to Sam saying "I've told you this in as many ways as I can, how's it hard to grasp? Victoria lost her mate, the greatest pain she ever felt. She wasn't here to hurt anyone, she was seeking her own end, but with her gift she couldn't do it. Any other vampire or you wolves triggered her gift and forced her to flee, but I wasn't a threat being human. She just wanted to end the pain and join her mate where ever that may be, so after she told me her story I lit the match so to speak. It's sad really that a gift she had cherished all of her life was what was keeping her in so much pain."

They all nodded their head in a show of respect, they couldn't imagine the pain one would be in if their other half was ripped away from them.

Breakfast was the usual noisy affair in the Uley house, laughter joined the sound of forks scraping plates, and they bantered like family does over little things. Their lives weren't perfect but they were happy. Bella left the boys to clean up the kitchen as was the rule, she cooked so she didn't have to clean up after; and headed for the green-house to gather things for lunch. She was only gone from the house for twenty minutes when all the wolves jumped to their feet when they heard her yell for Sam. He was already sprinting to her and almost took the door off its frame when he swung it open; he found her hands braced against one of the many benches breathing hard through her nose.

"Bella baby what's wrong? Do you need to sit, please talk to me." Sam was normally a very calm man, but not when his wife was in pain like she obviously was at present.

Once she took a few deep breathes and leaned into Sam's hands that were on her hips, she turned her head and told him "You need to help me inside and upstairs, have one of the guys call Dr. Shaw at the clinic and ask him to come as soon as he can, then someone call my Dad."

It took Sam all of three seconds to understand what was happening; he scooped her up gently into his arms and turned for the house. All the wolves had followed him and had heard her instructions; they were already racing to get done what she asked. Embry stayed to finish grabbing the fruits and veggies quickly so Bella didn't stress about it. Jacob was on the phone tracking down Charlie, he was out patrolling Forks, so dispatch promise to radio to him immediately and let him know Bella was in labour. Quil called the tribal clinic so the doctor had time to gather his things before heading out to the Uley house. It was helpful to have a doctor in the know when it came to the wolves, and as emotions would be running high with the baby on the way, spontaneous fur might happen. Paul ran ahead up the stairs to the room on the left, when Sam and Bella found out they were having a baby; Bella decided to have a home birth. All the wolves had been instructed on what to do when the time came, so Paul went ahead and got the water started for the small pool that had been set up in one of the spare rooms.

Sam felt as if his emotions were going haywire as he carried Bella up the stairs behind Paul, he by passed the birthing room for now and headed straight to their bedroom. Bella wished to have the baby at home, and in all honesty Sam loved the idea. He wanted to be involved with his child as much as possible, so being able to be there for the entire labour and birth was a good place to start; he just felt lucky he wasn't on patrol when labour started. Heading into the master bath, Sam held her in one arm as he reached to turn on the shower. Bella still had yet to say anything since the green-house and had her head on his shoulder with her eyes closed, he wondered how long she had been feeling pain, and why she so suddenly knew that it was happening now?

"Sweetheart are you okay to stand for a second so I can help get your dress off?" Sam asked gently while kissing the top of her head. When she nodded he slowly bent till her feet were on the ground, but kept an arm around her when her legs wobbled; he was starting to get worried.

"Bella how long have you been having pain?" When she looked up at him he was shocked to see guilt in her eyes along with tears.

Her voice trembled as she answered "I've been having back pain since just after you left for patrol, but it wasn't bad so I didn't worry. It wasn't until I was out back that it hit me that they were contractions. I'm sorry Sam, I should have said something sooner; I just didn't want to worry everyone." He had her stripped bare by then and quickly dropped his shorts as well, then he moved them both under the water. When they built the house they made sure to have a large shower that both could fit in easily; complete with two benches and multiple shower heads.

"Of course we're going to worry Bella, we all love you, you stubborn beautiful woman. Now you need to remember that we are all here for you, that I'm here for you. Whatever you need we will get it done, I promise. Do you have any idea how far apart the contractions are?" Sam spoke as he held her to his front under the warm spray. She was standing with her shoulder to his chest as he rubbed her lower back like he did often in the past few months. The doctor had warned them that she may have bad back pain during labour, as the baby was sitting very low.

"There about ten minutes apart as far as I can tell, they weren't really bad until I tried to stretch to reach for a ripe tomato." Bella suddenly went ridged in Sam's arms and dug her nails into his arm that she had been hugging. Sam could feel the muscles pulling tight under his hand, and prayed to the great spirits that he would be able to change her mind on not taking anything for pain.

Several hours later Bella found herself once more pacing around the birthing room in her home with Sam's arm tight around her shoulders. All but one wolf was downstairs waiting for the first pack baby to make their appearance into the world. Charlie was down there as well, and said he wasn't leaving until he saw that his daughter and grandchild were okay. The doctor had also been sent downstairs as Sam couldn't stop growling at the poor man, Sam didn't mean too; but couldn't stop the instinct reaction to another male near his mate. Especially when she was in so much pain. Sue Clearwater was a nurse at the clinic and had come to assist with the birth; she stayed in the room with the couple, but in a chair out of the way until she needed to check mother and baby.

Bella still had yet to take anything for the pain, she said that woman had been having babies for thousands of years naturally, she could too. No one dared to argue with her. Sam was in his normal pair of shorts and Bella was in one of his t-shirts; it looked like a dress on her. Her water had broken more than two hours ago, but her contractions had slowed down, which is why they were walking again. Sam was talking softly to his mate in the hope that the sound of his voice would help take her mind off some of the pain she was in. He had just started to tell her about his idea for building a tree house in a few years when she said she had to push.

Sam quickly got her back into the water as Sue came forward to check Bella. When Sue smiled at Bella and told her to go ahead and push, every wolf stood at the ready. They weren't sure what if anything they could do, but they would do whatever they were asked to do. Charlie asked what was happening and Jake let him know what they could hear. When the doctor tried to go back up to be present for the birth, both Sam and Bella snarled at him to go away. Sue was more than capable to deliver the baby safely, so he wasn't really needed.

Time meant nothing to Bella as she was braced in her husband's arms, she rode on waves of pain; and even though it hurt she knew it would be worth it to finally hold her child in her arms. They didn't know the sex of the baby, they wanted the surprise. Boy or girl didn't matter as long as the baby was healthy. Bella felt the strongest urge to push yet when Sam's voice broke into her thoughts "Please sweetheart you need to focus, push please baby. I love you, I'm right here with you, and if I could take away all your pain I would, but it will stop as soon as you push the baby out. One more big push my love, please." His voice was pleading to her and it was then that she noticed that even with the urge she had indeed stopped pushing.

"Okay Sam, I love you too." With that she held his hands tightly and pushed with every last once of strength she had left. After what felt like an eternity, but was only seconds Bella was rewarded with the screeching wail of her baby. Bella let out her breath she didn't know she was holding as she went limp in Sam's arms.

Sue brought the baby up on to her stomach and clamped the umbilical cord as she said "Congratulations you two, Sam are you cutting the cord?" Bella looked over her shoulder at her husband as he starred down at the wailing little body now being held by his wife, he had tears streaming down his face; and the biggest smile upon his lips. He took the scissors from Sue and cut where she told him to, as agreed on earlier they didn't announce the gender yet so that the ones listening downstairs couldn't know before Grandpa Charlie.

Sam leaned down to kiss the hell out of his wife, when he pulled back Sue was watching them with a smile. She took the baby to clean up and take measurements as Sam said "Thank you Bella, thank you so much. I didn't think I could get any happier than when I met you, but now it feels like I'm about to burst; my heart is so full."

"I know what you mean my love, and thank you for being here for me; I don't know if many husbands would have stay throughout the whole labour. But you did and that helped more than you know, I love you Sam." Bella reached up to give him a gentle kiss and then turned back to watch Sue. Sam held Bella close as Sue brought over their wrapped little bundle that seemed much happier now that they were warm in a blanket.

Bella had no problem through the rest, the after birth and clean up were quick; Sam even managed to keep his growls down as the doctor check over mother and baby before stating they were both in perfect health. He gave them his congratulations and then left the tense room. Bella and baby were taken into the master bedroom to get comfortable before anyone was allowed up. Bella was able to feed her beautiful little one before anyone got too impatient.

Sam sat proudly with his arms around his little family enjoying the peaceful moment before he let the rest of their big crazy family in the room. After one more gentle kiss to Bella's head Sam nodded at Sue to let them up. He could hear her telling everyone downstairs that Bella and the baby were just fine; there were no complications with the birth. Sue told them that they could head up, but threatened them to be quiet so to not startle the newborn.

When the tap on the door came Sam called them to come in, Charlie was the first in the door; he headed right to Bella's side of the bed and leaned down to give her a kiss on the cheek before looking at the bundle in her arms. Bella smiled at her Father and said "Dad do you want to hold your grandchild first?" To which he smiled and said "Please Bells."

She carefully transferred the sleeping bundle into her Dad's arms and said "Grandpa, I'd like you to meet Mathew Alex Uley; your grandson." Smiles spread around the room as the boys name was announced, all were very happy to finally be told weather it was a boy or girl.

"He's beautiful honey, looks just like his Dad, all but his nose, he has your nose Bells." Charlie said with his eyes glued to his grandson. He didn't know three years ago if this day was going to ever happen, but he was very glad it did. Bella had been through more than enough in her short life, she deserved all the happiness in the world, and he was glad that as a father he was able to see her get it. He could feel the heat as the pack tried to get a peek at its newest member, so he sighed and passed little Mathew along into the arms of Paul that all but demanded he be first after Charlie.

Sam and Bella sat back and watched as their son was passed gently from one set of hands to the next, each wolf looking their baby over then rubbing their cheek along his soft one in a lupine show of affection. All seven wolves were present at the moment, but Jarrod would be leaving in a few to run the patrol lines. Even though no vampire had come near their lands in months, they still kept watch; they were just more relaxed about it now. Once all the wolves had seen and scented the newest pack member, they were all asked to leave so that Mother and son could get some much needed rest. After congrats and gentle hugs for Bella, and pats on the back for Sam were given they found themselves alone once more just the three of them.

Sam held them close and said "I love you, both of you so much. I promise to always protect you, to be here for all the ups and downs we may face. Thank you sweetheart for making all my dreams come true." He kissed his son's head then his wife's as he watched them submit to sleep, Bella breathed her love back to Sam before going under.

Even in her exhausted sleep Bella knew how blessed she was in life. Sure she had some bad things happen to her, losing her mother and step father was hard; she still missed them so much. However she knew that she was loved, and that they were watching over her and her family now; where ever they were. Bella also had some pretty amazing things happen to her as well. She connected with her father like never before, growing closer to him helped heal many of the wounds she carried. Bella got to live one of her dreams by going to school in Paris to study and learn her passion, cooking. Coming home to the place she was born and being able to share her knowledge with the community brought her so much joy. People came from all over the state to get a taste of what Bella made. Special orders were made for all sorts of functions, weddings to board meetings and everything in between. Meeting Sam and finding her other half was an amazing experience, and even with the struggles at first, she knew that she wouldn't change any of it; even if she could.

Now she was blessed with a large and amazing family, sure they were bottomless pits and sometimes got a little fuzzy; but we all had our quirks. Now lying in her husband's strong and warm arms while she held her son, was the best feeling in the world. Bella was looking forward to what life brought them, as she knew that together they could handle it.

Tomorrow they would introduce their son to the imprints and elders, he would receive his blessings from both the Billy as Chief, and old Quil as Shaman of the tribe. She wasn't sure if Jacob and his imprint Lily would be there for all of it as she still didn't like to be around the whole pack at once. Jacob finally found out how real imprinting was when he came upon Lily broken down on the side of the road several months ago. After he shook the daze off he managed to help her get her car working, and a date. However it didn't turn out as Jacob hoped. Lily was deathly afraid of him when he told her what he was, and she refused to see him at all. Not knowing what else to do Jake went to Sam and Bella for help. After apologizing for the way he had acted before, he begged for their help. It took some time, but Bella got through to the girl; it was hard to fight against the Alpha female.

She was just about to let her mind go blank when a thunderous boom could be heard from the kitchen causing Bella to jump. This in turn made Mathew startle and cry and Sam to growl, the response from below made them all laugh within seconds "Quil did it" every wolf called out followed by a "Hey"

Yes this was her life, crazy wolf family and all; and as she tried to calm her son down as she watched Sam stock out of the room to go give the boys hell, Bella said to her son "I'm glad I woke up. I'm so glad that I took control and lived my life my way; because it brought me here; and there is no other place I ever want to be."

The End.


End file.
